Preliminary investigations at the burnt GOIL filling station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra have revealed huge volumes of water in the station’s fuel tanks.
The Presidential committee set up to establish the true cause of the June 3 fire disaster explained how they came to that conclusion after an inspection of the facility on Friday.
“…The reaction of the chemical on the dip sticks, we know what they mean – it’s a chemical reaction; you smear the pole or the dip stick with the chemical and when you dip it, where there is water, it will change to pink and where there is no water, it will remain the same. As you have seen, now you have established that there is some amount of water in it,” Chairman of the committee, Justice Isaac Douse explained to the media.
[contextly_sidebar id=”uoZGYVbs1dRJClxFEbf2Toy8u4k5cPAA”]“…The quantity of water is not important and how the water got into the tank will be determined later on,” he noted.
Earlier reports had suggested that because the water managed to get into the tanks, it carried the fuel into the flooded area which later sparked fire, killing more 100 people.
He indicated that more experts will be deployed to the facility to “assess the relationship or the ratio between water, fuel in all the tanks.”
In all, four tanks were tested for water levels.
The first tank had 21,000mm of water, the second had 4,500mm, the third had 1,250mm and the last tank had 1,450mm.
According to the chairman, the burnt filling station has been secured and they are confidnent that nobody will go there to tamper with the evidence.
Justice Isaac Douse invited anybody who was adversely affected by the fire “to come forward so that we can hear from them. We are also asking those who have really observed what went on to come because a lot of conflicting stories are coming out either from the press or the genaral public.”
Background
After hours of a heavy downpour in Accra which caused devastating floods in the city, the GOIL Filling Station at the Kwame Nkrumah caught fire killing over 150 persons who were seeking shelter at the station and adjoining buildings.
The President subsequently set up a five-member committee to investigate the cause of the fire.
The committee is expected to complete its investigations by June 30, 2015.
Presently, DNA tests are being conducted on some of the bodies for identification.
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By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @ osamidan
Photos: Umaru Sanda Amadu