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A fuel tanker transporting 54,000 liters of diesel from Tema Express Oil Marketing Company to the Western Region on Friday caught fire at Ayensukrom No.2, a community along the Tarkwa-Bogoso Highway.
The truck, with registration number GR-3583-20, was transporting the fuel to Hiawa and Aboi Nkwanta when the incident occurred.
The driver, Kofi Oppong, and his mate, Emmanuel Offei, escaped unhurt, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) learned.
The Tarkwa Divisional Officer of the Ghana Fire Service (DO) Grade II, Alex Assiem, confirmed the incident to the GNA and said at about 0959 hours on October 6, they received a wireless message that a fuel truck was on fire at Ayensukrom No. 2.
The driver of the truck and his mate were on their way to offload the diesel, but a few meters to the town, they saw flames under the truck, and this affected the brakes while descending a hill.
Although the driver managed to park it on the edge of the road, and he and his mate alighted to access the problem, suddenly the truck caught fire.
The tanker was slightly affected with some minor leakages but the whole of the front portion of the truck (head) got burnt.
DO II Assiem said he mobilized some officers to the scene to protect lives and property and that fire officers from Prestea had already doused the fire when they got to the scene.
The team, however, joined forces to cool the bulk to prevent it from exploding.
Though the incident halted traffic for about an hour, police officers from Tarkwa and Bogoso were present to manage the situation and to ward off the crowd.
DO II Assiem assured residents to remain calm, adding; “We have cooled down the temperature of the diesel in the truck, no explosion will occur.”
He advised the public to take a cue from tragedies that accompanied explosions in the past and stay away from such scenes for their own safety.
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