The Association said it cannot provide information on when its members are to resume work due to the technical nature of their planned installation assessment.

[contextly_sidebar id=”GmBOBQk6s6d3rnqyJJlu3WUGV7YU8SAX”]Members of the Association have suspended work supposedly for major maintenance works on their stations nationwide.

The Association’s members, some of who shutdown from Wednesday, October 19, has not indicated when it will allow members resume regular operations.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, the spokesperson for the LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana, Kwame Owiredu, said, “We put up a technical team and we gave them the mandate to check the integrity of our installations as well as issues associated with delivery so we are hoping that they come out with their result as to what they found. It is a technical issue so we didn’t place timelines, and we are hoping that the technical people will do their jobs as soon as possible so that we get past this whole thing.”

The situation is expected to take a serious toll on consumers who would have to wait for the companies to resume before they can refill their cylinders.

Restaurants, bakeries and other businesses that rely on gas are also likely to be negatively affected by the development.

Some have accused the LPG Marketers of undertaking the move against the government due to the latter’s plans to reintroduce the gas re-circulation program, and also close down high-risk fuel stations.

But Mr.Owiredu told Richard Sky on Eyewitness News that, “we are not undertaking this exercise to fight the government or our way of resenting to whatever directive might have come from the government. We believe that public safety is supreme and important, and as much as we know that those who patronize our gas will face some difficulty in accessing gas, their safety is also very important.”

He noted that, although some gas stations are yet to implement the decision, the Association is optimistic that by noon on Thursday, the companies would have fully complied.

Cylinder re-circulation program

The government’s decision to introduce the cylinder re-circulation program, comes after a gas explosion at Atomic junction in Accra, that killed at least 7 people and injured over 130 others.

Following the incident, President Akufo-Addo as part of a 9-point cabinet decision directed stakeholders to implement the cylinder re-circulation program within a year.

As part of the program, consumers will buy cylinder bottles already filled with gas and will not need to refill themselves at designated stations.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Asante also disputed claims that gas from Ghana Gas is not odorized, hence cannot be detected early when there is a leakage.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rohxJAVOxgLoqeISa4o7TXjBAUQWzQ0R”]Speaking to Citi Business News after a press conference, Dr. Asante explained that, Ghana Gas adheres strictly to the rules set by the Ghana Standards Authority in the production of gas to avert explosions.

“Ghana Gas LPG is made from raw gas. Its pressure is a little high. But I want to say this again, it is still within the limits of what Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has stipulated”.

“Even if you put that aside, it is incumbent on any containing or handling vessels to make sure that the design of your vessels are not just to a very narrow bound of five bar. Even in most cases, for the piping, it’s got to be one and half times what you have,” he added.

Dr. Asante stated that, it is misleading for a section of the public to blame the Atomic Junction gas explosion on Ghana Gas product just because it has a pressure of 7.5.

“I don’t buy it that because Ghana Gas has got a vapour pressure of 7.5, so all our hoses are being damaged. It is easier to change that hose than to say we are not going to get our own indigenous gas. This is not the only LPG on the commercial market, and you will also note that it has been used over the last two years,” he maintained.

Dr. Asante disclosed that, the gas that leaked at the Atomic Junction gas station was not a product of Ghana Gas.

“It is instructive to note that, some of the accidents that happened at the discharge facilities actually didn’t have gas coming from Ghana Gas. These are low pressure gas coming from elsewhere” he stated.

The explosion at Atomic Junction in Accra killed seven persons, and left some 132 injured.

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Our gas did not cause Atomic Junction explosion – Ghana Gas   appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The blasts occurred late on Tuesday local time at a military base near Kalynivka in the Vynnytsya region, 270 kilometres west of Kiev, Ukrainian emergencies service said in a statement.

One person was injured, it said.

The military said rescue teams were evacuating nearby villages in the region.

Arriving in the region hours later, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said “external factors” were behind the incident.

Social media users reported hearing loud explosions as far away as the capital Kiev.

Local media said the explosion was the fourth ammunition depot explosion in the past two years.

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Source: ABC

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The explosion, according to eyewitnesses, was caused by the leakage of the gas which was being supplied to GHUMCO.

A first stationary gas tank exploded, injuring firefighters who were at the time trying to bring the situation under control.

A second explosion; which was from the very vehicle discharging the gas, was huge such that, the tanker divided into two with huge inferno and heat travelling through the atmosphere for over 100 meters before landing in a nearby lagoon.

Two nearby warehouses full of different food items were also razed by the inferno.

After visiting the victims and the accident scene, Dr. Amin Adam noted that, the company must be appropriately sanctioned.

He said “I want the NPA to consider withdrawing the license of the OMC because many a time when they continue to hold their license, they find ways to do the same business elsewhere and therefore the punishment and the sanctions does not become punitive enough because they would find a way to operate with the same license.”

He added that, government will no more entertain any form of negligence on the part of fuel distribution and pump stations that result in injuries and deaths.

“This is a new regime, a new ways of doing things and I believe that Ghanaians, especially managers of such important facilities will sit up and begin to know that government will not take lightly any form of negligence and non-compliance with regulations that would lead to the death of people or injuries.”

Companies complicit in disasters will foot victims’ medical bills – Minister 

Meanwhile, Dr. Amin has also announced government’s decision not to foot the medical bills of the injured in mass accidents such as the explosion.

He said the companies involved would be forced to bear such cost henceforth
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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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GHUMCo manufactures metallic cooking utensils and household items, and gas is an essential material in their line of work.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8QuC6UYIzftNay1abXJoOeCcmZxfvc3D”]However, no prescribed PPEs are given to the workers. As a result, the workers have had to work without PPEs.

Speaking to Citi News, some workers of the company complained that they are suspended each time they speak about their safety.

“Our safety is substandard. Management has no regard for our welfare. I protested once, but was suspended for one month without pay”, one worker told Citi News.

Another said “we wear our own clothes when we are working. No safety boots, no trousers, no gloves, nothing. Sometimes our clothes are tattered but they have no concern.”

Narrating how the explosion happened within the compound, one of the workers expressed surprise that the gas was discharged when they were working on the premises, saying it was highly irregular.

He said “when gas finishes, we are made to go home for the refueling to be done. We return after refueling. I was surprised that this time round the gas was discharged when we were on site and the oven was on. I was working on the oven when we smelled the gas leakage. We therefore turned the oven off and ran away.”

Meanwhile, Production Manager of GHUMCO, John Andrews Ammisah, has denied the worker’s account. He said on Skyy Power FM that the workers are simply making up allegations.

He said, “it’s not true. When things happen like this people say so many things which are not true”

When asked about the exact Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) that are given to the workers, he was unable to name them.

“What I know is that, they are given a safety talk every morning. Sometimes when you give them the PPEs they don’t even wear them, you have to force them to wear it.”

Companies complicit in disasters will foot victims’ medical bills – Minister

Meanwhile, the Akufo-Addo administration has said that it is putting an end to the culture of government footing the medical bills of victims of mass accidents. It will instead lay the onus of catering for victims on the organisations implicated in whatever hazard may occur.

This new direction was announced by a Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Amin Adam, who revealed that the managers of Ghana Households Utensils Company (GHUMCO), has been asked by the government to ensure that the pay for the bills of all the affected persons in the Takoradi Gas explosion which left over 100 people with injuries.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Takoradi explosion: GHUMCO workers bemoan lax internal safety standards appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The injured include fire men who were fighting the blaze.

Citi News’ Western Regional Correspondent Oberempong Yaw Ampofo, reported that firemen were having a hectic time, putting out the blaze.

According to eyewitnesses and officials from the Ghana National Fire Service who spoke to Obrempong, the explosion occurred “at about 7: 10 this morning, when a gas tanker was discharging gas close to the Total filling station on the main Takoradi Highway.”

“In the process, an anomaly was discovered so fire service officials were called to rescue the situation. While they were working to address the situation, the very tanker that was receiving the gas exploded, injuring all the five servicemen who were there, so people were alarmed and they were running away. While they were running away, the other tanker that was also discharging the gas exploded and that was the cause of the whole trouble,” he added.

Obrempong reported that, the explosion “got into the atmosphere, injuring many who were using the road.”

He said not only were officials from the Ghana Fire Service injured, but students at a nearby school and employees of a metro mass depot were also affected

“The number of victims as a result of the Gas explosion has risen from the 25 reported earlier to over 100. We went to the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital where we were told by the hospital authorities that as the time we visited, they were working on over 60 people. We followed up again to the GHAPOHA hospital, and over there too we could count over 30 people who had sustained various degrees of injury.”

Aside this incident, a number of explosions have occurred in other regions. The recent ones occurred at Trade Fair and Labadi in the Greater Accra Region.

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Update: Over 100 injured in Takoradi gas explosion appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking to Citi News, the Member of Parliament-elect for La Dade Kotopon , Vincent Sowah Odotei said those who have been injured have been sent to the hospital for medical care.

“…Unfortunately five people have lost their lives. Others have been taken to the hospital…As you can see the place is not the safe . It is still very dangerous and we have been asked that we bring the whole thing under control.”

He was also unable to state the cause of the incident saying “It is too early to ascertain what might have caused the incident. We still do not know the extent of the disaster. We do not have a clue. We waiting to see whether we can bring this under control.”

The explosion specifically occurred between the Labadi Cemetery and Trade Fair Centre.

An eyewitness, Joseph Quaye Amoo who earlier narrated the incident to Citi News said: “I was sitting opposite the Kpogas furniture area when all of a sudden I heard a very loud explosion and I turned back and saw a huge flame, a huge furnace so everybody started running…”

Two die in Kasoa gas explosion

In 2015, a similar incident that occurred near Ngleshie Amanfrom near Kasoa led to the death of two people.
Several people also sustained serious injuries from the blast which happened.

Gas explosion injures two at Dansoman

In that same year [2015] two persons were injured in a gas explosion which occurred at Dansoman near the Wesley Grammar Senior High School.

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By: Marian Ansah & Farida Shaibu/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post 5 dead in Labadi gas explosion – MP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

More than 20 people are being treated in hospital with burns and other injuries after the incident in the village of Hitrino, local media say.
The authorities ordered an evacuation as firefighters battled the blaze.

At least 20 buildings were damaged in the derailment and explosion, spokesperson Nikolay Nikolov told Bulgaria’s Nova television.

Two tanks hit an electricity line and exploded when the train derailed near the village station at about 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT), according to several reports.

“Two blasts have caused a serious fire and ruined at least 20 buildings,” Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov told Reuters news agency.

“There are many people injured… many with burns.”

Hitrino, a town of around 800 people, is located in Bulgaria’s north-eastern Shumen province, about 60 miles (100km) from the Black Sea.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said he was travelling to the village.

In a post on social media, he said the regional hospital needed blood supplies to cope with the causalities, and appealed to people in the region to donate blood.

Transport Minister Ivalyo Moskovski also said he was travelling to the village. In a brief statement, he said he had ordered both the head of the railway accident investigation task force and a representative of the rail infrastructure company to attend the scene.

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Source: BBC

The post Bulgarian train explosion kills four appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Forty-two per cent of the fatalities are pedestrians; and 23 per cent of these pedestrian deaths involved children below 16 years of age, Mr Abraham Zaato, Assistant Planning officer, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the National Road Safety Commission has said.

He was speaking at the just-ended training workshop for media personnel at the Koforidua Training Centre (KTC),

Mr Zaato said 60 per cent of the accidents were caused by over speeding.

The about 50 participants were drawn from selected media houses in Accra and Koforidua, to equip media personnel with the necessary tools to enhance their reportage on the road sector.

He said ages between 18 and 55 accounts for 60 per cent of the fatalities and over 70 per cent of those who die were males and urged women to advise their husbands to be extra careful on the road.

He said globally, over 1.2 million people die each year, while between 20 and 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries as a result of road accidents annually.

Mr Zaato said currently, the Ashanti region tops in the fatalities list with 20.8 per cent, followed by the Eastern Region, 15.8 per cent; Greater Accra region was third with 15.6 per cent; Central region, 10.3 per cent, with the Upper East and Upper West region being 2.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.

In 2013, the Commission recorded 14,390 road crashes involving 22,208 vehicles, killing 2,095 people and injuring 12,655 people, recording a slight decrease compared with 2012.

Mr Zaato said the first quarter of 2014 recorded 3,621accident cases, involving 5,788 vehicles, killing 147 people and injuring 3,432 people, while the same period in 2013 recorded 3,337 cases involving 5, 226 vehicles, killing 540 people and injuring 3,130.

He said it was imperative that the NRSC form partnership with the media and other stakeholders to intensify road safety education to ensure the security of road users.

Source: GNA

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