Ghana petrol station inferno kills scores in Accra
The fire started as people in the city are trying to cope with
two days of heavy rain, which has left many homeless and without power.
The flooding hampered rescue efforts and may have led to the
fire, the BBC's Sammy Darko reports from Accra.
There are fears that the number of dead could rise as the search
of the site continues.
It is thought that people were in the petrol station sheltering
from the downpours when the fire broke out, our correspondent says.
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| SURVIVOR, YAW AFORVE |
Bus
conductor Yaw Aforve was sleeping in his vehicle which was parked at the petrol
station when the fire started.
He said he jumped into the floodwaters and when he came up for
air, the fire burnt his face.
"I was swept away by the water to the other side [of the
road]," he added. "I saw so many people screaming and shouting."
The
flooding helped cause the fire, the Ghana fire service said.
The waters "caused the diesel and petrol to flow away from
the gas station, and fire from a nearby house led to the explosion",
spokesman Billy Anaglate said, the Associated Press news agency reports.
President
John Mahama has visited the burnt-out petrol station and appealed for calm as
the authorities try to cope with the aftermath of the fire and the flooding.
He praised the rescue workers for the lives they had saved but
said he was lost for words to express his feelings for those who had died.
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