A 19-year-old mother, Janet Amartey, is grateful for the life of her one-month-old baby who escaped death after a building collapsed on her at Apiate in the Western Region.
The baby, Abena, had sustained injuries on her face when she was rescued from the rubble after an explosive-laden truck collided with a motorcycle, leading to a large blast in their community on Thursday, January 20.
Janet said she was washing outside when the unfortunate incident happened.
“When the accident occurred and the truck was burning, they advised us to turn off our meters so that is what we all did. But shortly after switching off all our electrical gadgets, the explosion happened.
“We did not anticipate it was going to be that big. Our building collapsed and it was engulfed by fire. Thankfully, when she was rescued, she was alive but badly injured,” she narrated.
Janet’s mother, Abena Gyasiwaa, says they lost everything after Thursday’s explosion.
She believed her life will never be the same after they leave the shelter provided by government.
“I am a petty trader and a farmer. As I sit here, all the capital for my trade and for my family’s upkeep have been lost.
“As I sit here, if we are asked to leave the shelter and start fending for ourselves, I do not have a penny to take care of my family. So we need a lot of support from philanthropists, government, friends and family,” she told JoyNews’ Maxwell Agbagba.
Meanwhile, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor says government will set up a ministerial committee to probe the explosion which has so far claimed 14 lives and injured many more others.
Mr Jinapor is hopeful that the recommendations from the inquiry, when implemented, will make Ghana’s mining sector safer and desirable to foreign investors.
“For the broader interrogation, the broader examination, so that we can learn the useful lessons out of the industry, the larger picture, what are the loopholes? Where do we have to tighten? The legal regime, is it sufficient? The policy regime, is it sufficient?
“And God willing next week we’re going to inaugurate a ministerial committee of technocrats who are going to conduct an enquiry. Not just an enquiry into this incident, but an enquiry into the whole gamut of health and safety of mining in Ghana and not just explosives, everything to do with health and safety of mining so that out of that we can have recommendations which will be implemented to make our country a safe and healthy destination for mining,” he said.