At least 73 killed by Accra blast thought to have been caused by hours of torrential rain, from which many of the victims were sheltering

At least 73 people were killed when a petrol station exploded in the Ghanaian capital Accra while it was being used as temporary shelter from torrential rain.

Many of the victims were commuters trying to escape the downpour when flood water swept stored oil towards a fire, according to a fire official.

Billy Anaglate, a spokesman for the Ghana fire service, said the emergency services had recovered dozens of bodies from the scene at a Goil filling station on the busy Kwame Nkrumah Circle north of the city centre.

Referring to the death toll, Anaglate said: “We are still trying to salvage the site of the accident before we can come out with an accurate figure.”



He said flooding “caused the diesel and petrol to flow away from the gas station, and fire from a nearby house led to the explosion”.

Later, the Ghanaian president, John Mahama, visited the scene, offering condolences and help to the families of the victims. He described the explosion as “catastrophic and unprecedented”.

Joy FM 99.7 | Ghana (@Joy997FM) President John Mahama at the burnt Goil filling station with the Mayor of Accra & Nii Armah Ashittey #JoySMS pic.twitter.com/xivXY6wffL

Graphic footage broadcast on national television showed corpses being piled into the back of a pickup truck and other charred bodies trapped amid the debris. Neighbouring buildings that had caught fire burned into the night as flood waters around the site hampered recovery efforts.

TheSammy Darko (@Sammy_Darko) #Accrafloods: warning! blood dripping from the a truck carrying dead bodies pic.twitter.com/3G5B9KGPbe

“Many people took shelter under a shed at the station during a severe rain across the country and got trapped when the explosion happened,” Michael Plange, who lives nearby, told Associated Press.

Images from the scene showed the remains of at least six vehicles under a charred petrol station canopy.

Israel Laryea (@Izraella) Scores of people who took refuge at this fuel station in Accra, #Ghana during a heavy downpour, Wednesday died. pic.twitter.com/KvOoqsbAza

Accra’s city authorities had already been under pressure to declare a state of emergency after hours of heavy rain caused severe flooding in and around the capital.



Britain’s high commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, on Twitter.



Jon Benjamin (@JonBenjamin19) Desperately sad to hear of the large number of deaths in the tragic fire at a filling station in Accra last night. Our deepest condolences.