Baby killed, 27 injured as gas tanker crashes into building
Calamity befell Kwahu Fodoa, a farming community off the main Nkawkaw-Kumasi road, yesterday, when a five-month old baby was burnt to death, after a gas tanker crashed into a building situated by the roadside.
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The body of little Yusif has been deposited at the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw.
Twenty-seven others sustained various degrees of injury and were sent to the same hospital for treatment.
Those whose conditions were said to be serious were sent to the Burns Centre of the Komfo Anokye Hospital in Kumasi.
The driver of the vehicle, who was said to have also sustained injuries, could, however, not be traced.
Although the tanker, with registration number GE 6376-13 and with the inscription ‘Kan Royal’, which was heading towards Kumasi, did not explode, volumes of the gas which leaked and spread in the direction of the wind caused an explosion in one of the houses which spread to 36 other houses, leading to the casualties.
Kwahu West Municipal Fire Officer
According to the Kwahu West Municipal Fire Officer, Mr George Frempong, the incident occurred at about 4:30 a.m.
He said when the tanker, which was fully loaded with gas, crashed into the building, housing the New Faith Church International, firemen drawn from Mpraeso, Nkawkaw and Konongo were mobilised to seal the leakage on the tanker.
According to him, the firemen at the same time went round the community to tell the people not to set fire for some time, but suddenly there was an explosion in one of the houses killing the child.
He said the fire spread to a number of other houses, including three big sheds containing cola nuts being prepared for export, destroying the houses and the commodity.
Livestock comprising sheep, goats and fowls were also burnt as well as crops such as cocoa, plantain and vegetation on a large stretch of land of approximately eight hectares were also destroyed.
Holy Family Hospital
At the Holy Family Hospital, the Director of Nursing in charge of the facility, Madam Julia Nimo, said 13 of the victims had been referred to the Burns Centre of the Komfo Anokye Hospital, Kumasi.
As of press time, firemen and the police had cordoned off the area and efforts were being made to siphon the remaining gas from the tanker.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mrs Helen Adjoa Ntoso, together with the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Akuriga Yaagy, as well as the Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Ranford Buakye, visited the scene and the injured at the Holy Family Hospital and the Presbyterian Health Centre.