One more person has died in connection with the explosion that took place at Apeatse, a community near Bogoso in the Western region on January 20, 2022.

This brings the death toll to 14 since the incident took place.

Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Prestea Huni Valley, Isaac Dasmani disclosed this to JoyNews during an interview on The Probe on Sunday, January 23.

He added that five people are currently in critical condition.

“For now we can say that there are 14 who are dead and about five are in critical condition now – there are three in Kumasi, one in Korle-Bu.

“There is one that this evening I got the information that we need to refer him to Cape Coast.”

Mr Dasmani said organisations, including Gold Fields Company Limited and the Red Cross have donated tents which are being erected for the victims to move into from the congested churches being used as temporary shelters.

“We have received a lot of relief items but we can’t share them because of where they are now. Once we move them to that place, we can provide them with all the necessary utensils they can use to cook, we can distribute the food to them.”

“Hopefully, by close of [today], we would finish preparing the site and by Tuesday morning or evening, we move them to the site. We are creating washrooms and places of convenience…I am also going to buy polytanks to supply them with enough water,” he added.

Motor rider narrates his version of incident

The man who was allegedly riding the motorcycle which is reported to have collided with the vehicle carrying the explosives at Apeatse has denied the assertion.

He told the Ghana News Agency that he was rather hit by another vehicle from behind and was rushed to a nearby health facility before the explosion occurred.

“I didn’t collide with the said truck, neither was I at the scene during the explosion,” the rider (name withheld) said.

He said he was receiving treatment at the health facility when he was informed that a truck had exploded.

“I don’t know where that story is coming from because I was not at the scene. I did not see any truck around me when the accident occurred. I was in the tricycle with one woman and the two of us were carried to the health facility.

”The people that conveyed us to the hospital later informed me that it was a sprinter bus that hit my tricycle and that the driver ran away after the accident,” he insisted.

About 954 persons were directly affected by the explosion. Some were displaced while others sustained various degrees of injury.

Thursday’s incident occurred when a truck conveying mining explosives collided with a vehicle close to an electricity transformer.

As a result, the town was reduced to rubble in the blast, killing some inhabitants and injuring many. So far, over 500 homes have been affected by the blast.

Following the accident, among other things, government is launching a full-scale investigation into the incident.

Also, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia visited the victims and donated some items to them.