Over 70 killed in Ghana petrol station fire

More than 70 people were killed in a fire at a petrol station
in Ghana’s capital, Accra, as they sought shelter from heavy
rains that caused widespread flooding, the police and Red
Cross said Thursday.
“This loss of life is catastrophic and almost unprecedented,”
a visibly shaken President John Dramani Mahama said as he
toured the scene.
“A lot of people have lost their lives and I am lost for words.”
Communications minister Edward Omane Boamah
described the situation as a “national emergency”.
A senior police officer said that “the fire service alone has
retrieved about 73 bodies,” while Red Cross disaster
management coordinator Francis Obeng put the death toll at
“more than 70″.
Local hospitals said morgues were full, with the death toll
likely to rise, according to security officials.
The fire broke out late on Wednesday night in the Kwame
Nkrumah Circle area of central Accra and is thought to have
spread from a nearby residence.
It was not immediately clear exactly how the victims died,
with reports that some had drowned in flood waters caused
by blocked roadside gutters and drains that overflowed
because of the rains.
Mahama extended his condolences to the families of those
who lost loved ones and said “precautionary measures”
needed to be taken against flooding that hits the city every
year.
At least two days of rains have caused chaos in Accra,
leaving many suburbs submerged and people stranded.
Already sketchy power supplies had been cut to some
communities as electricity sub-stations were submerged.
Boamah said the armed forces, police, fire and the National
Disaster Management Organisation have been deployed to
help those affected.
“The general public is kindly advised to avoid fast-moving
rainwater and areas they know have big drains. Stay on
higher ground, where necessary, to prevent loss of life,” he
added