The eruption was followed by huge fire balls which escalated into the sky that fateful Saturday.
This sent hundreds of residents, in and around Madina and Atomic, including students of the University of Ghana and Presbyterian Boys School fleeing their abodes following the explosion that occurred at the gas station.
But for the timely intervention of a downpour which helped reduce the intensity of the fire, more lives and properties would have been lost.
At least seven people were confirmed dead, with 134 others injured.
GhanaWeb’s visit to the scene a year after the incident showed that business was booming as usual as if nothing had happened. The nearby lorry station was packed with drivers, passengers, and business owners.
However, most of the inhabitants who spoke to www.ghanaweb.com said they still live in fear even though a year had already passed.
According to them, the least noise frightens them, even if it is the sound of a bursting vehicle tyre. Business, they said, has also slowed down since many are afraid to get close to the accident area.
“Since the incident, we have been living in fear. Now it takes a while to get passengers to fill buses at the station since most of our colleagues prefer to be by the roadside for fear of being caught up in another predicament. Nonetheless life goes on as man must survive,” a trotro driver lamented.
He pleaded with the government to ensure that at least every gas or fuel station is equipped with a fire service to attend to such unfortunate occurrences on time.
A food vendor who spoke on anonymity stated that the compensation government promised them, in the form of money, has still not been given to them despite filling some forms for proper allocation to the affected persons.
She stated that some NADMO officials came around to collect the forms but till date, not a pesewa has been given to them.
“We were asked to fill some forms and then give them back to NADMO officials. The forms were records of our businesses and the damages caused to help government compensate us fairly. But we have not had the money yet.”
