At least 16 people have been killed and 59 others injured after a vehicle carrying explosives collided with a motorcycle in the West African country of Ghana. The government has confirmed the casualties. About 500 buildings collapsed in the blast. It is feared that the death toll could rise further.
As seen in the video footage spread through social media, many houses were destroyed in the blast. Locals claimed that the explosives were being transported by truck to the mine area to extract gold. At that time the truck exploded. This created a terrible situation.
This blast happened shortly afternoon in front of a truck packed with explosives for a gold mine, police said in a statement. Police are urging locals to leave the area and move to the surrounding area for safety. Seji Saji Amedonu, deputy director of the country’s National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), said about 500 buildings had collapsed.
The blast struck shortly afternoon in the western part of the country, near the town of Bogoso. The area has a Canadian-owned gold mine, Kinross. A spokesman for the gold mine said the incident took place 140 kilometers from the Kinross gold mine.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Ado said that the blast had caused many casualties. However, he did not give any details of the incident. In a tweet, he described the incident as “unfortunate” and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.