Media giants Aljazeera and Daily mail have both given an account of how the gas explosion in Atomic happened on Saturday, October 7th.
Two filling stations at Atomic junction were engulfed in flames after a gas station around the area exploded on Saturday night.
The international media reported the unfortunate incident and we reproduce exactly what they said;
Aljazeera’s Account
‘Deadly’ gas station blasts rock Ghana’s capital Accra
Frightened residents flee site as huge blasts near a busy intersection in northeast Accra cause casualties, official says.
A tanker has caught fire at a gas-filling station in Ghana’s capital, Accra, triggering two explosions and killing an unknown number of people, according to an official.
Police said the blasts happened in the Atomic Junction roundabout area of Legon, in northeast Accra, at about 7:30 pm (19:30 GMT) on Saturday.
“Unfortunately, there are some fatalities and we are working to have the numbers,” Deputy Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told a local radio station. “There is quite a number also injured.”
The explosion began at a state-owned GOIL liquefied natural gas station and spread to a Total petrol station across the street, sending a giant fireball high into the night sky and forcing frightened residents to flee.
“It’s too early for us to know the cause of the fire. We will investigate,” Ghana National Fire Service spokesman Billy Anaglate told AFP news agency. “There are some vehicles that were also burned as a result of the explosions.”
At least six fire trucks and more than 200 police personnel were deployed to help to cordon off the area of the blasts. Ambulances also arrived and those with various injuries were sent to the hospital.
Al Jazeera’s Ama Boateng, reporting from Accra, said that many people are feared dead as the blasts happened at “an extremely busy part” of the capital.
“This is a busy interchange and one of the main routes out of the city,” she said. “There are lots of buildings and a lot of people in the area, including many street sellers.”
The filling station is also near a transport terminal and close to some hostels for the University of Ghana.
The Accra city authorities warned people to avoid the area.
Kobby Boateng, a computer programmer, said he had returned to the university campus with his girlfriend when the blast happened.
“All of a sudden, we heard a ‘boom’ and the flash of an explosion, which made the building just shake and the lights went out,” he told AFP.
“People were rushing out of their rooms. Some of them were naked and the heat that was coming from that blast, my God, it was unbearable.”
In June 2015, a blast at a petrol station near a busy downtown Accra intersection killed at least 90 people who were sheltering there from heavy rain and flooding.
A small unit on a tower building at Ghana’s parliament also caught fire in July, although the blaze did not cause major damage.
Daily Mail’s Account
Monster fireball lights up the night sky in Ghana after Atomic Junction petrol station explodes and forces thousands to flee for their lives
A petrol station in Ghana’s capital Accra exploded on Saturday evening, killing an unknown number of people, a government official said.
Footage shows a gigantic fireball lighting up the night sky after the fueling station at Atomic Junction exploded forcing hundreds to flee.
Deputy Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said: ‘Unfortunately there are some fatalities and we are working to have the numbers. There is quite a number also injured.’
The blaze started at 7.30pm local time (8.30pm GMT) but it now said to be under control with the government planning to release casualty figures later today
A police spokeswoman Efia Tenge said the blasts happened at a petrol station in the Atomic Junction roundabout area of Legon in northeast Accra at about 7:30 pm.
She said it was a gas explosion and added: ‘I am in Legon and I heard two explosions. My whole building was shaking.’
A government official said it has left a number of fatalities but it was not known the exact number at this stage, according to local sources.
It is also reported that a number of cars had been burned out as fires spread.
The Accra city authorities warned people to avoid the area, which is also home to the University of Ghana campus.
Hundreds of concerned residents took to social media in the seconds after the blast to find out what had happened.
One man wrote: ‘There have been a second explosion guys. Something bizarre is going on in Accra. I’m so fucking scared right now.’
The explosion is a reminder of a tragedy in June 2015 when more than 150 people were killed as they sought shelter from seasonal rains and flooding at a petrol station.
Leaked fuel floating on top of rising waters had caught fire, burning down buildings and the filling station, trapping people in vehicles as the pumps exploded.
Kobby Boateng, a computer programmer, said he had returned to the university campus with his girlfriend Saturday when the blast happened.
‘All of a sudden, we heard a ‘boom’ and the flash of an explosion, which made the building just shake and the lights went out,’ he said.
‘People were rushing out of their rooms. Some of them were naked and the heat that was coming from that blast, my God, it was unbearable.’
An AFP correspondent said the area had been cordoned off. Fire crews and ambulances were at the scene.
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