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Explosion in Ghana gold mine region leaves at least 13 dead

At least 13 people died and dozens were injured when a truck transporting explosives to a gold mine in western Ghana collided with a motorcycle, triggering an explosion that destroyed a rural community, the Ghanaian government said on Friday.

Smoldering wood and torn sheet metal marked the spot where hundreds of homes stood in Apiate, a settlement about 200 kilometers west of the capital Accra.

The explosion occurred on Thursday (20) and left a crater approximately 20 meters wide. Doors and roofs were ripped off other buildings, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene.

Rescue teams scoured the site as excavators dug through the larger piles of dirt and debris.

“We’ve seen damage to life and property here that is simply indescribable,” said Daniel Adu-Gyamfi, a student at a nearby mining college who came to volunteer with the response team.

“Yesterday…you could see human remains everywhere,” he added.

About 180 people were injured in the blast, police said.

In a video apparently filmed in Apiate, people can be seen walking towards a roadside fire when a powerful explosion hits the settlement.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. Police said a motorcycle collided with a truck and caught fire, and a government statement suggested a power transformer on the road could be a cause.

The truck was owned by a company called Maxam, which transported explosives to the Chirano gold mine, run by Toronto-based Kinross Gold Corporation, police said.

Kinross said it plans to provide rescue workers with support and relief items to those affected. Maxam did not respond to requests for comment.

The transport of the explosives followed the proper procedure and the truck had a police escort, Kwesi Ofori, director of public affairs for the Ghana Police Service, told reporters at the scene.

Police are treating the site as a crime scene as they investigate, he said, without providing details.

fast evacuation

The death toll could have been much worse.

There was a pause between the collision and the explosion, which gave the driver time to shout to the community that they were in danger, said police spokesman Ofori.

Teachers at a nearby school were the first to be informed and evacuated the children.

“(The driver) also announced to most members of the community that they should get out of there, including the motorcyclist,” Ofori said.

Earlier on Friday, the government said the death toll was 17, wrongly counting four people who are alive but in critical condition, Ofori said.

On a visit to Apiate, near the towns of Bawdie and Bogoso, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia applauded the rescue efforts and said the government is working to create temporary housing for those who have lost their homes.

“We learn lessons now and lessons that will come much later. For now, we are very concerned about how to complete this rescue effort,” he said.

Additional information from Nellie Peyton and Edward McAllister of Reuters

Reference: CNN Brasil

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