I called my wife to bid her good bye - Apiate disaster survivor recounts ordeal

A survivor of the 2022 Apiatse explosion, Joseph Kwabena Arhin, has recounted how he called his wife on the phone to bid her goodbye.

On January 20, 2022, a massive explosion killed 17 people and injured 59 others in Apiate, a town in the Western Region between Bogoso and Bawdie.

Apart from the deaths, the explosion destroyed several domestic and commercial properties.

Some residents of the area who were unhurt had to run for their lives.

The preliminary investigation established that a mining explosive vehicle moving from Tarkwa to Chirano mines collided with a motorcycle, resulting in the explosion.

Joseph Kwabena Arhin, who is still bedridden as a result of the incident, said he lost hope when he realized that he was about to lose a limb, and so he called his wife on phone and asked her to take care of their three kids since he might not make it back home.

He reveled that his wife, who is a theater nurse at the Affia-Nkwanta hospital in Takoradi, reached out to the Wassa Akropong government hospital to come to his aid.

“When I realized that I was about to lose a leg, I reached out for my phone, called my wife, and asked her to take good care of our three kids as I might not make it back home. My wife encouraged me and asked for my exact location. She is a theater nurse at the Affia-Nkwanta hospital, and so she called the Wassa Akropong government hospital to come for me.”

“The good Samaritan managed to take me and other victims away from the accident scene in a tricycle. “We met the nurses my wife had called from Wassa Akropong Government Hospital, who transported me to the hospital,” he recounted.

Joseph Kwabena Arhin, who says he is now a prisoner in his own house, has appealed to the general public to assist him with reconstructive surgery on his leg.

”I’m now a prisoner in my own house. I have spent my life savings to get my leg to where it is now, but I need more. Now my fears and worries are that if I’m not able to go through the reconstruction process, I will not be able to walk and take care of my family again. “The government has done his part, and I am pleading for assistance to get my leg reconstructed,” Joseph Kwabena Arhin added.