On June 3, 2015, an explosion and a fire occurred at a petrol station in
Ghana's capital city
Accra
Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
, killing over 250 people.
Explosion
The
GOIL station, near
Kwame Nkrumah Interchange
Kwame Nkrumah Interchange is a 3-tier interchange which was constructed to replace the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in the centre of the city of Accra, Ghana. It opened in 2016. The interchange is named in honour of Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrum ...
in the city's downtown area, was being used as a shelter from heavy rains and flooding from
several days of flooding in the city, and was packed with people, cars and buses, waiting to leave to their various destinations when the explosion occurred. The source of the explosion is unknown though believed to have occurred in the station's fuel tanks. One survivor stated that the power had gone out before the explosion, but after the power was restored, they heard a "pop" and then the fire erupted.
About 96 people were taking shelter at the station before they were killed by the fire.
Due to the flooding, water had mixed in with the fuel, and when the tanks exploded, the water exacerbated the spread of the fire to nearby buildings, killing additional citizens.
The ongoing rainfall and flooding made rescue efforts difficult. So many bodies were taken to the
37 Military Hospital
The 37 Military Hospital is a specialist hospital located in Accra, on the main road between the Kotoka International Airport and central Accra. It is the largest military hospital in the Republic of Ghana after the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. It ...
, the largest specialist hospital in Ghana, that the morgue was overwhelmed.
Reactions
Ghana's president
John Dramani Mahama
John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who has been the 14th president of Ghana since January 2025. A member of the National Democratic Congress (Ghana), National Democratic Congress (NDC), he served as the 12th p ...
visited the site, and called for three days of mourning over the losses starting on 8 June 2015. He also authorized a
GH₵ 60 million ($14.5 million) recovery fund.
President Mahama stated that he would start to push for legislation to prevent building on waterways in order to prevent such accidents from happening again.
The incident was the worst disaster for the country since the 2001 Accra Sports Stadium disaster,
where 127 people were crushed in a stampede during a football match at
Accra Sports Stadium
The Accra Sports Stadium, formerly named the Ohene Djan Stadium, is a multi-use stadium (40,000-capacity, all-seater) located in Accra, Ghana, mostly used for association football matches. It is also used for rugby union.
Overview
The stadium w ...
.
The
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...
,
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Pietro Parolin (, ; born 17 January 1955) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as the Vatican's Secretary of State since 2013, and has served as a member of the Council of Cardinals since 2014, the same year he was made a cardinal.
B ...
, in the name of
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
, sent a telegram of condolence for the victims of the explosion to the Right Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, President of the Ghana Bishops' Conference.
See also
*
2017 Atomic Junction gas explosion
On 7 October 2017, an offloading petrol tanker located at the state-owned Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) caught fire resulting in a large-scale explosion at the site of a liquefied natural gas station located at Atomic Junction in Madina, Accra, Ghana ...
*
2022 Bogoso explosion
On 20 January 2022, a large explosion occurred in Apiate, a suburban community near Bogoso in the Western Region of Ghana, after a truck transporting mining explosives collided with a motorcycle. The explosion leveled the community, killing 17 p ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Accra explosion
Explosions in Ghana
Accra explosion
21st century in Accra
2015 disasters in Africa