Fire officers prevent gas disaster on motorway

The timely intervention of personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has prevented what could have been another gas fire disaster after a Burkina Faso bound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker capsized on the Accra-Tema Motorway.

Divisional Commander I Timothy Osarfo-Affum, the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), speaking to the Ghana News Agency at the scene of the accident said his outfit received a distress call at 0520 hours that a Burkina Faso bound gas fuel tanker was involved in an accident at the Adjei-Kojo under a bridge near Ashaiman.

He said upon arrival at the accident scene, he and his team discovered that some valves of the gas tanker were leaking and they managed to assist the driver's mate to tightened them to block any further leakage, which according to him, would have caused another big gas fire disaster on the motorway.

He said the gas tanker belonging to Maxx Gas, was carrying LPG from Takoradi to Burkina Faso but had to pass through Ashaiman, where the Company's depot was located for routine maintenance.

He said according to the driver of the gas tanker, just some 20 metres to the Adjei-Kojo under-bridge near Ashaiman, a Kia truck veered into his lane and in an attempt to avoid a collision, he lost control and landed on its side and skidded off the road about 45metres.

He said a combined team of the GNFS and the Police had to block the Accra-Tema side of the motorway, hence all vehicles plying the road had to use the other half - Tema-Accra.

Mr Osarfo-Affum said the blocking of the Accra-Tema side of the motorway caused heavy vehicular traffic, thereby frustrating commuters and drivers. He said the combined team had to study the situation before using a crane to lift the gas tanker and then dismantling its damaged head from the tank. He said another head was brought in to connect to the tank, but it also developed a fault after the fixing.

He noted that a third head was acquired and connected to the tank, which drove it away for the gas to be emptied into a different vessel.

Chief Superintendent Oduro Amaning, the Tema Regional Commander of the Motor Transport and Traffic Division of the Ghana Police Service said it took the combined team of Police and Fire officers about nine hours to clear the gas tanker to restore normal traffic flow on the motorway.

He urged drivers to drive with caution, avoid over speeding and wrong overtaking.