Location: Madina - Atomic Junction, Accra. Current reports coming from Madina on 7 October 2017 – Atomic Junction in Accra, indicate that another gas explosion has taken place near the GOIL Filling station. According to the reports, several people are feared dead with numerous others also having sustained various degrees of burns on their bodies. Live videos taken by people nearby show a huge ball of fire lighting the evening sky as people run for their dear lives.

It is just over a year now that the fatal 3 June 2016 fire disaster took place in Accra and this latest explosion at Atomic Junction goes to show that certain drastic measures need to be put in place in order to curb so as to curb the constant loss of lives during the rainy seasons. Over one hundred people lost their lives during the 3 June explosion and it seems nothing was learned from it.

In a country where explosions at various gas stations happen to be a seasonal occurrence, it comes as a shock that no stringent measures are being put in place to ensure that the necessary steps are taken by operators of such gas stations. For how long will citizens continue to at the mercy of such explosions? The scars that were left on the bodies of those who were lucky enough to survive the 3 June explosion should have been enough to tell the entire nation that such a thing cannot be allowed to happen to anyone. Sadly enough, it has just happened and as usual there will always be that aftermath frenzy where one will think that nothing of that sort is going to happen.

The explosion at Atomic Junction in itself has taken the lives of several people who were around that place when the unfortunate incident happened. However, there is also a report making the rounds that a driver of a commercial Benz Sprinter minivan knocked and killed two Senior High School students in the melee after the explosion. The driver was said to have tried to escape but the alertness of the police personnel around at that time helped in causing his arrest.

The rainy seasons in Ghana is now becoming a period synonymous with avoidable disasters. However, these disasters have been happening time and time again without any permanent solution. Just some few days ago, major cities and towns with Ghana got flooded after hours of continuous downpour of rain. It was the similar thing that took place when numerous people were burnt alive on the 3 June 2016. A gas station caught fire during torrential rains that led to the flooding of the area and what happened is better left alone.

It is about time that the nation as a whole takes that bold decision to ensure that such avoidable loss of lives is prevented. With the rate at which human lives are being lost to these seasonal fire outbreaks, it is only the stringent application of the laws on operators of such gas stations that can put an end to such happenings.