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Scattered burnt bodies, debris from burnt houses, vehicles and goods
were evidence of Wednesday's blazing fire that engulfed a Goil filling
station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
The incident which started around 10pm Thursday stretched personnel of
the Ghana National Fire Service to their limit in their attempt to
bring the fire under control.
The flood that accompanied the torrential rains also impeded the work
of the rescue team.
When Joy News got to the scene, the fire which started from the Goil
filling had spread to four buildings which house businesses, reducing
everything to ashes.
When it became apparent that fighting the fire was going to be a
herculean task, the fire service personnel focused their attention on
rescuing individuals who were trapped in nearby buildings.
They succeeded in bringing out more than 10 people alive but the
absence of an ambulance meant they had to struggle to stay alive after
their rescue.
At 2am, the fire officers with help from the Police and a few
volunteers managed to bring the fire under control but also started
the darkest part of the exercise.
Access to the razed filling station revealed burnt bodies of tens of
people and their positions clearly showed their unsuccessful
struggleto survive.
Few minutes passed 4am and the bodies were retrieved, packed in two
Kia cargo trucks headed for the morgue.
When daylight appeared, the magnitude of the disaster became clear
with bodies scattered around. As the search for missing family and
friends intensified, businesses also began to count their losses.
Deputy Public Relations Officer with the Ghana Fire Service,
PrinceBilly Anaglateh said he personally counted 73 bodies.
Many of the dead bodies were retrieved from a nearby pharmacyshop.
These victims, like those who died at the filling station, had taken
shelter there during the rainbut could not escape the blazing fire
when the explosion occurred.
President John Mahama has already been to the scene of the incident
and has expressed shock at the scale of the disaster, promising to
ensure it does not occur again.
Credit: Joy News|Elton Brobbey
