Two die from gas accident

Kumasi, Dec.11, GNA- Two persons are reported dead in yet another gas accident at the Nnatony Gas Filling Station at Ohwimase, near Kwadaso in Kumasi.

An eyewitness, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi that the incident occurred on Monday evening, when the two persons, who were workers of the company were trapped in a dumping tank and suffocated to death.

Benjamin Mbah, 35, a plant engineer of the company, and Twumasi Agyapong, an engineer apprentice, died possibly from gas inhalation when they entered the tank to clean it.

Their bodies had been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital) mortuary for autopsy.

According to the eyewitness, personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service retrieved the bodies of the two.

The eyewitness said after Mbah, who entered the tank first was not coming out and was also not responding to shouts from other workers outside, Agyapong decided to enter the tank to ascertain what was happening but unfortunately, he was also trapped to death. He said personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service were called in to rescue them but they were pronounced dead on arrival at KATH. A police source confirmed the accident and said the owner of the filling station, Mr Tony Nimako, had been arrested and granted police enquiry bail.

Three persons died while several others injured in a fierce gas explosion at the Engas filling station at Asokwa in Kumasi in September, this year.

Houses, vehicles and other properties were destroyed during the explosion.

The subsequent deaths and injuries did not only cause anguish among residents of Kumasi but also brought to the fore the need to consider the siting of gas filling stations in residential areas. This compelled the Ashanti Regional Security Committee to initiate measures to prevent future occurrence of gas accidents. It led to the closure of some gas filling stations that were operating without licenses, or not authorized by the Environmental Protection Agency to operate.

The question for compensations for those who died or injured during the explosion had remained unanswered.