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Three days mourning starts Monday for fire victims

President John Mahama has called for three days of mourning to begin on Monday after over 90 people were killed in an explosion at a petrol station in Accra.

The victims of the tragedy had sought shelter from flooding overnight at a GOIL petrol station when the incident took place on Thursday.
The flooding “caused the diesel and petrol to flow away from the gas station and a fire from a nearby house led to the explosion”, said Billy Anaglate, spokesperson for Ghana’s national fire service.
In addition to the dead at the petrol station, local media reported that dozens of people drowned in various parts of the city following two days of torrential rains.
The combined death toll from the explosion and flooding now stands at over 150 and has again raised concerns over the city’s inadequate infrastructure.
Graphic TV footage and images showed corpses being piled into the back of a pickup vehicle and other charred bodies trapped amid the debris.
Flood waters around the site hampered rescue and recovery efforts.
Officials at the nearby 37 Military Hospital said its morgue had reached capacity.
Death toll ‘catastrophic’
President Mahama visited the scene on Friday, calling the death toll “catastrophic” and offering condolences to families of the victims.
“Steps will be taken to ensure that disastrous floods and their attendant deaths do not occur again,” he said.
He also announced the creation of a 50 million cedis ($12m) recovery fund as flooding killed dozens.
It was Ghana’s single worst disaster since more than 120 people died in May 2001 in a stampede at the national stadium during a football match, a police spokesman said.
Infrastructure deficit
The explosion is likely to intensify criticism of the government’s failure to improve the infrastructure.
Though the downpours this week have been especially bad, heavy rains in June are not unusual yet drainage systems in Accra remain inadequate.
The area where the blast occurred is a busy section of central Accra with several banks and other offices in addition to residential areas. Several bus terminals connect the area to the rest of the city.
The Education Ministry instructed all children who were not already at school on Thursday morning to stay home.
The city is also grappling with an energy crisis resulting in blackouts lasting for as long as 48 hours.

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