IT was like a nightmare. The roasting of 25 able-bodied human beings alive in an explosion from an overturned fuel tanker in Tanoso, near Techiman, last Wednesday was a national tragedy.
According to reports, the incident occurred while the people were trying to scoop petrol that was spilling from the vehicle and in the process, the truck exploded, with fire engulfing the crowd.
The dead were said to have been burnt beyond recognition and were buried hours later in a mass grave in the town. At least 50 others, who received various degrees of burns, are in hospital — some at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital while those with cases perceived to be severe have been airlifted to the Okomfo Anokye Hospital in Kumasi and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
And as was to be expected, the story received international publicity and while we were still trying to come to terms with the disaster, some of the Western media insulted our integrity by linking poverty to whatever happened.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is really saddened by this unfortunate incident and, on behalf of our numerous readers, we express our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
What makes it even more pathetic is the fact that the incident of people being killed while looting fuel is not a common feature in our country. Such incidents are more common in Cameroon and Nigeria. Indeed, barely four months ago, a similar incident happened in northern Cameroon, while in May, last year, 98 people died as they tried to scoop fuel from a broken-down tanker in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
But since this phenomenon has now caught up with us, it behoves all of us to rally round and educate our people on the danger of scooping fuel from overturned vehicles and other unorthodox sources, if we must avoid another calamity in future.
Furthermore, given the nation’s oil find and the numerous oil pipeline accidents recorded world-wide, it is important that we treat this matter with the urgency it deserves.
Certainly, one sure way to make inroads is to mount an intensive campaign on radio, television and in the newspapers, highlighting the dangers one is exposed to in handling fuel unprofessionally.
In this regard, we are happy that the father of the nation, President J. A. Kufuor, took the lead yesterday to visit the town to mourn with the people and also to advise the chiefs, elders and opinion leaders to educate the people never to go near vehicles of any kind involved in accidents to siphon fuel.
While applauding the President’s timely action, we hope it won’t be the end of the matter, but will be followed by a sustained effort to get everybody to appreciate the danger fuel poses to us in our everyday life. Fuel serves a very useful purpose in our daily endeavours but we can have our fingers burnt if not handled with care.
Finally, we pray for those currently on admission at various hospitals. We wish them speedy recovery.
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