Management of the 37 Military Hospital has confirmed that ten out of the 54 persons who escaped the gas explosion at Atomic Junction with varying degrees of injury, are still being treated at the hospital a month after the incident.
Seven people were confirmed dead in the blast, whilst 132 people sustained varying degrees of injury.
[contextly_sidebar id=”SawPO0u0MHFJr5wZAykPfZRaYnTIOA9t”]The residents of Atomic Junction in Madina were thrown into a state of panic following the explosion at the gas station which spread to adjacent structures.
The huge fireball from the explosion could be seen for miles around with many people in the vicinity taking to their heels in a bid to escape the blaze.
A number of people who sustained injuries in the blaze and the ensuing panic, were taken to the surrounding hospitals to receive treatment.
According to the Administrative Medical Officer at the 37 Military Hospital, Major R.O Mintah, 54 persons were taken to the 37 Military Hospital and out of that number, 44 have since been discharged.
He however added that, the ones who have been discharged routinely return to the hospital for check-ups.
“We had 54 of them initially that we attended to. Up until today, we’ve discharged all of them except ten who are still in our care. Those who were in ICU are still there, but they’ll be coming out soon. There are eight burn cases in the normal ward, and we have some who have orthopedic cases who have been to the theatre for surgery,” he said.
“There are lots of improvements. Burns cases take a long time to treat for discharge, so the costs are being managed by the hospitals and donations from a few organisations. Those who have been discharged have not been totally weaned off the hospital because some still come for OPD follow-ups.”
‘Thinking about the fire gives me trauma’
Several people were also taken to the Legon hospital for treatment and earlier narrated their ordeal to Citi News’ Michael Ogbodu.
Many of them were in bandages, whilst others had slings around their broken arms with expressions of discomfort written all over their faces.
“My whole body is paining me, and I’m in a trauma from thinking that the fire would have burnt me to ashes. I was at Baritas Restaurant with a couple of my friends and we were eight in number. The first explosion happened, but without fire; it just came with some smoke,” she said.
“We were told to come out so we were running helter-skelter. I couldn’t run far before the (explosion) with the fire, so I thought I was almost gone, but God being so good, I was able to run to safety. I fell while I was running and bruised my knee. I came for dressing today [Monday], and I was crying in the process.”
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana