Ghanaian President assures fire, flood disaster will not happen again

dimeji akinloye

June 10, 2015 3:05 PM

The President gave the official death toll as 152.

Ghanaian President, John Mahama, has assured the people of Ghana that the June 3 flood and fire disasters at a fuel service station in Accra that kill many people will never happen again.

Mahama said this on Wednesday, June 10, at the national memorial service held in Accra to round off three days of national mourning for the victims of the disasters.

He gave the official death toll as 152.

Mahama said series of mistakes and failings led to the tragedies but said Ghana will ensure that it does not happen again.

"The search and rescue mission is over the loss that our nation has suffered is incomprehensible.

"The figure is still provisional but we hope we will not find any more dead bodies," he said.

All flags flew at half-mast during the mourning period and citizens were encouraged to wear black or red arm bands and clothing to mourn with the families of the victims of the tragedies.

Mahama said the process of identifying the dead is ongoing and asked families who have lost loved ones to visit three mortuaries where the bodies were sent to help identify the bodies.

He said in situation where the bodies cannot be identified, the government has directed that DNA tests be conducted.

He urged families to present DNA samples so that confirmations can be made.

The fire occurred when a leaking valve at the fuel service station allowed fuel to be transported to a nearby house where it came into contact with naked flame and caused an explosion.

Several hours of rain caused heavy floods that killed the people, washed away roads, personal properties, vehicles, submerged houses and rendered thousands homeless.

dimeji akinloye