Government launches full-scale investigation into Appiatse explosion, says Oppong Nkrumah
The Information minister says the investigation will help government determine whether the protocols for transporting explosives in the country were adhered to
- “There is going to be a full-scale enquiry after the initial sequence of events have been properly gathered and an assessment made on whether or not the protocols for transporting materials of that nature were followed.
The government is launching a full-scale investigation into the circumstances that led to Thursday’s huge explosion in Appiatse, a town around Bogoso in the Western Region of Ghana.
At least 13 persons have so far been confirmed dead in the explosion, leaving hundreds of locals displaced, the police said. The explosion occurred after a motorcycle went under a truck carrying explosives owned by Maxam Limited.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who disclosed this in an interview with CNN on Friday (21 January), said the investigation will help government determine whether the protocols for transporting explosives in the country were adhered to so as to enable government to put in place appropriate measures to prevent such tragedy from occurring in the future.
“There is going to be a full-scale enquiry after the initial sequence of events have been properly gathered and an assessment made on whether or not the protocols for transporting materials of that nature were followed to the letter and if anybody unfortunately did not do the right thing, the necessary sanctions come to bear and if indeed there are lapses in the protocol, some more stringent measures will be put in place,” the Minister said.
The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia led a government delegation including the Minister of Interior, Minister of Information, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and officials of the Mineral Commission to commiserate with the families of the affected.
Sanctions
The government has suspended the licence of a mining services contractor Maxam Limited following Thursday’s huge explosion at Bogoso-Appiatse, an official communication announced.
In a statement issued on Friday (21 January), the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources also announced that the chief inspector of mines has been interdicted, as investigations into the incident continue.
At least 13 persons have so far been confirmed dead in the explosion, leaving hundreds of locals displaced, the police said. The explosion occurred after a motorcycle went under a truck carrying explosives owned by Maxam Limited.
The explosives were being transported to the Chirano Gold Mine, run by Toronto-based Kinross (K.TO).
Below is the ministry’s full statement:
Government support
The government is set to establish GHC200, 000 fund to support families and victims of the deadly explosion at Bogoso-Appiatse in the Western Region.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice-President of Ghana who led the National Emergency Response Team to Bogoso said the fund including food and other material items are initial provisions to help bring relief to the victims.
“Today, I want to give thanks to the Catholic Church and the Father here whom we have seen providing accommodation to the people who have been displaced. We’ll do everything that we are able to do to provide the need for all the displaced and to make sure all the sick is taken care of.
“…And we are presenting these things to the people through the municipal chief executive to make sure they’re distributed including a sum of GHC200,000 to take care of their initial need,” he stated.
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