#PrayForGhana: How A Khebab Seller Allegedly Caused Fire Explosion

This is the third gas explosion from a fuel station.

Last Saturday, around 7:30pm, Accra literally shook when an explosion rocked the night sky. Many people did not know what was happening when they felt the earth shake. They looked up in the sky and saw a fireball. This fireball could be seen from about 30km away.

According to eye-witnesses, the explosion struck when a gas tanker was offloading its contents at a station. The gas started leaking and created a gassy cloud in the area surrounding the filling station. The attendants at the station started evacuating people from the area to prevent any mishaps.

However, it seems that the evacuation exercise did not extend far enough because a man selling roasted meat (chichinga) by the roadside may have been the person to have caused the explosion. According to witnesses, this khebab seller allegedly started his business around the same time that the cloud of gas was thick in the sky. It is said that when he struck and lighted his grill, the flame caught on and erupted in the first explosion.
The fire instantly spread to a fuel station opposite the gas filling station. Ferocious fireballs flew into the air changing the skyline and turning it into a hazy cloud.

So far the official report as to the causation of fire has not come out but this is the reports that are being floated by people who witnessed the explosion. However, there are so many questions surrounding this cause. Why would you light fire when you can smell gas around your vicinity? Why wasn’t the evacuation exercise given a wider radius? How was it possible that people with fire accelerants sell close to filling stations?

The gas explosion at Atomic Junction in Accra has so far claimed at least seven lives and injured more than 132 people, according to official estimation. Also, more than 20 vehicles and other properties were also consumed by the raging fire.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this fire. It is our hope that lasting solutions are found to prevent future occurrences.