(MENAFN- QNA) A fire at a petrol station and flooding in the surrounding area have left about 150 people dead in the Ghanaian capital Accra, according to the government.
Security and emergency services "have officially counted ... about 150 deaths," president John Dramani Mahama said Thursday night.
A large group of people had fled to a petrol station in the city centre, when an explosion occurred there on Thursday.
An oil leakage from the petrol station "caused an explosion that killed many people who had sought shelter there from the torrential downpour that had inundated the city," Mahama said in a statement.
"The inferno quickly spread and engulfed a nearby pharmacy and several properties adjoining the filling station, claiming more casualties." "Obviously, the casualties from the fire disaster increased because of the heavy rains and resultant flooding of many areas including the immediate vicinity of the GOIL station," the statement added.
Interior Minister Mark Woyongo spoke of a "national tragedy." The government declared three days of mourning starting on Monday.
Witnesses reported charred bodies at the petrol station and bodies of flood victims scattered on some roads, dpa reported.
Accra had experienced torrential rains over the past three days.
The National Disaster Management Organization and the army were due to set up emergency shelter zones for people displaced by the flooding.
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