Nsawam: One person dead from quarry explosion

One person was confirmed dead and thirteen others critically injured after an explosion Wednesday evening at a quarry site in the Nsawam Adoagyiri area of the Eastern region.

According to eyewitness, the explosions at the site also destroyed property running into thousands of Ghana cedis in nearby communities.

The dead person was identified as 38-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed who was said to have rushed to the quarry site to ascertain what had happened after the first explosion. Whilst there, there was a second explosion which killed him, according to family sources.

The acting Inspector General of Police, Mr John Kudalor on Thursday visited the explosion site for a first hand briefing about the incident.

An officer from the Base and Ammunition Depot of the Ghana Armed Forces, Captain Tetteh Kumah told the IGP that their initial investigations showed that there were a total of about 27 containers filled with explosives at the quarry site and that apart from seven of them that were still intact, all the others exploded.

He said their initial investigations showed that ammonium nitrate was what was used to mix with other things and that it was an indication that whoever was operating the quarry was not adopting explosive best practices.

The owners of the quarry are yet to be identified. Reports however indicated that the original owner abandoned the site until recently when a new operator starting using the place. The police have since cordoned off the site for investigations.