Explosion at gas station kills one person at Dawhenya

A gas explosion has killed a 47-year-old man and destroyed part of a gas service station at New Dawhenya in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region.

The deceased, Anthony Ahiabu, was said to be cooking in his room at the Runel Gas Station with a domestic gas cylinder at a time that liquefied petroleum gas was being discharged from a tanker onto the main gas reservoir at the station.

Eyewitness told 3news.com that the domestic gas cylinder he was using exploded, threw him out of the room onto the compound and caused the main gas reservoir to also explode.

The tanker however did not explode.

A timely intervention by personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service saved the entire gas station, which also has a petrol filling station attached, from being burnt down by the flames that followed the explosion in the Tuesday dawn incident.

DOI Timothy Osafo Affum, who is the second in command at the Tema Regional Fire Command, described the explosion as minor.

Preliminary investigations, he said, revealed that the deceased who was ‘contaminated’ with gas, came into contact with naked fire, triggering the explosion.

Investigations have already commenced into the incident.

DOI Affum said they have requested for the necessary licences and permits from the owner of the Runel Gas Station.

He said the investigation will also be widen to establish whether the attendant had properly training as required, noting they have also asked the owner to provide them with a certificate to that effect.