One of the survivors of the bizarre blow-up of a huge quantity of explosives in transit to a mine in the Western Region has shared his experience.

Survivor of Bogoso explosion speaks
The explosion shook a small village called Apiate in the Bogoso District of the minerals-rich Western Region.

Speaking to state-owned GBC, the survivor, a man in his late 40s, said he has lost a grandchild in the blast.

“When the fire started, my friends and I were close to the street. But we soon realised there was nothing we could do to put the fire out, so I went. When we got home, like many others, I was now concerned about what would happen if the fire spread to the light poles.

“Then we heard the loud blast. We saw nothing again. It looked as if every building in the town collapsed on the spot,” he said in Twi to reporters.

“I have lost a grandchild,” he added.

Police have said the huge explosion was caused by the detonation of an unspecified quantity of explosives in transit to a mining site on Thursday.

Police say the disaster occurred when the truck carrying the explosives collided with a motorcycle and a fire ignited, leading to the detonation of the explosives.

“Meanwhile, preliminary investigation has established that a mining explosive vehicle moving from Tarkwa to Chirano mines collided with a motorcycle resulting in the explosion.

“Most of the victims have been rescued and are on admission at various hospitals and clinics within the Bogoso Municipality,” police said in an update on the incident.

The huge explosion razed down homes and killed many people.

An intensified search and rescue led by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service on Friday have retried 17 bodies from piles of rubble.

Fifty-nine people are also receiving treatment at the Apinto Government Hospital for varying degrees of burn injuries.

“I am pleading the government and institutions to come to aid of the town. This has not affected one or two families. Everyone in the whole town has been affected. Houses have been razed to the ground; people have died. People have been injured,” the survivor pleaded.