Paebo: Rocked by explosives residents count losses
Residents of Paebo, near Adoagyiri-Nsawam in the Eastern Region, are still counting their losses from last Wednesday’s explosion from a defunct quarry in the area.
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The explosion of two containers of ammonia and dynamite chemicals led to one death, many injuries, displacement of 1,236 people and the shattering of whole or part of the roofs, doors, windows and louvre blades of 200 buildings.
When the Daily Graphic team last Monday visited the affected areas - some as far as three kilometres away from the quarry site, some of the people were still living in their affected buildings.
They said the destruction was beyond their imagination and that they did not have the money to repair the damage to their buildings.
There were deep holes in the roofs of homes through which water could pass to inundate living areas in the event of a downpour.
The quarry, known as the A.K.Y. Mining Services, had, for some time now, stopped operating and the site abandoned without any security.
Although the police are yet to conclude investigations, it is suspected that the explosives, believed to be dynamite abandoned in a 40-footer container, might have come into contact with fire allegedly started by some hunters.
Life-long savings
Mr Kingsley Twum, a resident of Yawkrom, said his building was a life-time investment by himself and his brother.
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He said after roofing the building, they moved in awaiting some finishing touches.
He said the destruction of the roof had undermined the progress made so far and that they did not know how long it would take for them to raise money to buy new roofing sheets for refixing.
Mr Twum said although he had learnt that the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) would be offering some support, he did not believe the support would be enough.
He claimed that some NADMO officials would capitalise on their plight to enrich themselves with the allocations.
The St Martin’s Senior High School (SHS) at Adoagyiri was badly affected by the explosion as the louvre blades of the library, the administration block, master’s bungalows, the assembly hall and the chapel were shattered.
Parts of the roof of the school’s chapel had been ripped off by the force of the explosion.
The acting Senior Housemaster of the St Martin’s SHS, Mr Gabriel Kwami Dzededzi, told the Daily Graphic that the cost of the damage was way beyond the budget of the school.
He said the school’s allocation were only for feeding of students and administrative work.
Therefore, the school was at a loss as to how to raise the needed funds to procure new louvre blades and the ceilings, Mr Dzededzi said.
A Chemistry teacher of the school, Mr Daniel Ofori, told the Daily Graphic that five of his colleague teachers in the school had had their buildings collapsing during the explosion.
“They came here crying that they have lost their buildings. It was pathetic because it was their life-long savings”, he said in a dejected mood.
According to Mr Ofori, the best thing was for the teachers to rebuild the houses because the foundation of the buildings had been affected, as the walls had suffered deep cracks.
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He said any attempt at renovating the building might cause everything to fall to the ground following the slightest vibration.
When the Daily Graphic team went to the St Joseph the Worker Catholic Church at Adoagyiri, Rev. Father Augustine Frempong had engaged some carpenters to fix the smashed ceilings.
He said part of the ceiling (where he stood to deliver sermons) was ripped off and he had to organise for it to be refixed the same day because of a church service the following day (December 24).
Also affected were the louvres of the church and parts of the outer ceilings.
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Harrowing experiences
Some of the people interviewed recounted their harrowing experiences from the two explosions and indicated that they had since been living in a state of fear and anxiety.
Mr Dzededzi said the explosion happened only 10 minutes after he had got up from bed in his bungalow.
He said following the explosion, his ceiling fan fell onto the bed and particles from shattered louvre blades were scattered on the bed, meaning he could have sustained injuries if he had remained in bed.
Mr Ofori told the Daily Graphic he was asleep when he heard a bang and when he woke up, all the louvre blades in his bungalow were shattered.
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Rev. Father Augustine said after the first explosion, he went out to buy some wood to repair the damage caused.
He said he was on his way back when the second explosion occurred, which caused more damage than the first.
Ms Rebecca Afumwaa told the Daily Graphic that she was living in a state of fear now, suspecting that the explosion would recur.