The quarry in Kobinanokrom in Shama District, Western Region, which was the scene of a deadly explosion on Saturday, was operating without the necessary permits, according to the Minerals Commission.
The enterprise was operating at night, likely to evade detection by the Commission’s mine inspectors and the neighbourhood task force, which included police and Sand Winners and Quarry Association members.
During a normal monitoring visit by inspectors from the Commission’s Takoradi Office, it was discovered that the business was performing site cleaning and preparation work as well as operating machinery and equipment without first receiving permission from the Commission.
The Commission acknowledged in a formal statement that their early findings showed that the explosion’s site was the focus of an application by a company named STA Addsams Enterprise.
In the devastating incident, five individuals perished and several more were injured. The victims were night labourers, some of whom had suffered serious burns. They were thought to be both Chinese and Ghanaians.
The company’s managing director (MD) is still missing.
The explosion survivors were quickly taken to a number of hospitals in the region and Sekondi for medical care. The explosion also seriously compromised the structural integrity of other buildings by severely damaging a number of nearby structures, including a petrol station and the only health post in the neighbourhood.
Following a sad occurrence that happened in Appiatse in January of the previous year, this explosion is the second to occur in the Western Region in less than two years.
