The National Disaster Management Organisation (NaDMO) says three persons who died in a fuel tank at Effiduase might have been misled on the exact content of the tank, leading to their reported suffocation and death.

The three, identified as Ashie, Octopus, and Jonathan, were among five technical experts hired by the Produce Buying Company workshop to maintain a fuel reservoir at the COCOBOD office in Effiduase.

Explaining circumstances surrounding the incident to Joynews, Deputy Director of NADMO at the New Juabeng North Municipal Assembly, Kankam Twumasi Daniel says, their preliminary investigations have revealed that the company failed to disclose the exact content of the tank to the workers.

 “What our investigations can say is when they entered into the pit they couldn’t breathe because probably they might have been misled that the tank was containing diesel but in actual sense it contained adulterated fuel that is, probably there might have even been petrol or other chemicals being mixed,” he said.

The situation he believes might have led to their neglect of safety measures on site.

“It could be possible because when we brought them out of the pit, they were not wearing any such things on them,” he said.

He added that it is early days yet to make any conclusive remarks as investigations are still ongoing.

“But what I can say is they might have been misled by people who contracted them. I can’t really emphatically say who, but what the two guys who didn’t die, they told us that when they were coming, the leader of their team, that is, Mr. Ashie told them that they were going to work on a diesel reservoir.

“And per their experience and per my knowledge as I know, diesel mixed with water cannot suffocate someone but maybe other chemicals might have been part of the mixture,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Produce Buying Company, owners of the tank says it has opened investigations into the incident, and will speak to the matter at the appropriate time.