Quarry site explosion: 4 confirmed dead, many missing

Following an explosion at a quarry site in Shama, Western region, early on Sunday morning, four individuals have been confirmed deceased and several more are still missing.

Others have sustained injuries.

The explosion reportedly happened at the G-Omini Quarry quarry site in the Shama.

Many night shift employees, some of whom were burned beyond recognition, were reportedly from Ghana and China.

While some of the injured have been transported to other hospitals, others are still missing.

Around 00:30 GMT, there was an explosion.

The employees were murdered when the explosives, which were purportedly held in an unsecured storage facility without an authorization, exploded.

In addition to the deaths and injuries, the explosion seriously damaged the quarry.

Ebenezer Dadzie, the District Chief Executive for Shama, confirmed the occurrence to Graphic Online and stated that attempts were being made to find those still missing as well as determine the extent of the damage.

He said that the District Security Council had not yet determined how many people had been hurt or killed.

Graphic Online has learned through sources, however, that the corporation was unlawfully keeping the explosives without the Minerals Commission’s consent, in violation of the laws controlling the purchase, storage, and usage of explosives.

According to a source close to the firm, the yet to be used explosives stored in an area which is not a structured storage explosive magazine are what caused the explosion not during the blasting process.

It was stated that both the fatalities and the injured were night shift workers.

Both the Ghana National Fire Service and the police are there.