On June 3, 2015, heavy torrential rainfall leading to severe flooding in several parts of Accra, coupled with an explosion at a GOIL fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, resulted in the biggest disaster the country has ever witnessed.
Over 150 persons died and many others were left injured.
Although significant donations were made and money was promised to the victims and the bereaved families, seven years on, some of the victims are saying they have not received the compensation.
At the time of the explosion, people in the area were contending with heavy rain and flooding.
The flooding caused diesel and petrol to flow from the gas station, which was ignited by fire from a nearby house, leading to the explosion.
A victim who spoke to Citi News said “I sleep on the streets right behind this bank. Five of the survivors have died. Two of our members have gone mad. Life has been very difficult for us. Most of us lost our means of livelihood. We have nothing to survive on. We plead with government and individuals; it has not been easy for us.”
“It hasn’t been easy for me. We plead with well-meaning Ghanaians to come to our aid. We will appreciate all the support we can get, at least to help us find places to lay our heads, we are suffering” another victim appealed.
Meanwhile, the One Ghana Movement has renewed its calls for justice and fair compensation for the victims.
“It is our hope that the pursuit of justice will not only result in fair compensation for victims and their families but will, in the end, punish officials found culpable, and drive the sense of accountability and responsibility on the part of citizens, corporate Ghana, and public officials.”
“Avoidable disasters will not stop when no one is punished for their negligence and dereliction of duty. On June 3, we said ‘never again’ and yet again there was the La gas explosion, the Atomic explosion, the Takoradi explosion, and more. We certainly cannot go on like this as a country!”
The Movement holds that “justice delayed for the lives affected is justice denied and a failing of the duty of care owed to our fellow citizenry.”
The Movement and the victims, through their lawyers, (Darko, Keli-Delataa & Co.) and (A-Partners @Law), commenced a class action lawsuit in 2018, chasing GOIL, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for their “complicity in the disaster.”
Source: Citi Newsroom
