A gas station in Ghana’s capital Accra exploded tonight, sending a giant fireball high into the sky above the city as frightened residents fled the scene, a witness said.
At least six fire trucks and several ambulances responded to the blast at the city’s Atomic Junction near the University of Ghana.
It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.
Police spokeswoman Efia Tenge said the blasts happened at a petrol station in the Atomic Junction roundabout area of Legon in northeast Accra at about 7:30 pm.
She said it was a gas explosion and added: ‘I am in Legon and I heard two explosions. My whole building was shaking.’
There was no immediate confirmation of casualties but local media reported that a number of cars had been burned out as fires spread.
The Accra city authorities warned people to avoid the area, which is also home to the University of Ghana campus.
The blasts will likely revive memories of June 2015 when more than 150 people were killed as they sought shelter from seasonal rains and flooding at a petrol station.
Leaked fuel floating on top of rising waters had caught fire, burning down buildings and the filling station, trapping people in vehicles as the pumps exploded.
Kobby Boateng, a computer programmer, said he had returned to the university campus with his girlfriend Saturday when the blast happened.
‘All of a sudden, we heard a ‘boom’ and the flash of an explosion, which made the building just shake and the lights went out,’ he said.
‘People were rushing out of their rooms. Some of them were naked and the heat that was coming from that blast, my God, it was unbearable.’
An AFP correspondent said the area had been cordoned off. Fire crews and ambulances were at the scene.