According to foreign media reports, on the morning of September 10, Beijing time (late night of September 9, local time), an explosion occurred at a granite quarry of a Chinese-funded company in western Ghana, killing at least four people, including one Chinese citizen, and four other Chinese citizens are missing.
It originated in Anto-Aboso, Shama District, Western Ghana. Local disaster management official Michael Nyah said it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, which destroyed buildings near the quarry and scattered debris across a large area of farmland. Four people are still missing, and two survivors are in critical condition and being treated at area hospitals.
Local media outlet Citi News reported that the explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate, but local authorities have not confirmed. There were 22 people at the scene at the time of the explosion, nine have been discharged, five injured people are being treated in hospital, four Chinese citizens are missing, excavators are being used to find out if there are more people trapped.
Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, head of the Western region, said quarry operators would face severe legal sanctions. The quarry, which was previously handled by Chinese-owned Omni Quarries, has been transferred to STA Addsams, but the latter has not yet completed the required licensing process and therefore does not have the right to carry out quarrying activities.
Graphic Online has learned from sources close to the situation that the explosion did not occur during the blasting process, but was triggered by unused explosives stored in an unstructured explosives depot. The companies involved illegally stored explosives without the permission of the Minerals Board, in violation of the laws governing the acquisition, storage and use of explosives.
