The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, says quarry operators at the Anto-Aboso quarry site will face the full rigours of the law. Speaking to Citi News after inspecting the site, he revealed that the quarry operators, STA Addsams, who had taken over from the previous Omni Quarry operators, had not completed their licensing processes and were therefore not expected to be working.
Although this is contrary to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) position, the Regional Minister assured that the operators will definitely face the law for the disaster. This follows the death and injury of some persons after an explosive disaster that occurred Saturday night at the quarry site, which is operated by some Chinese at Anto-Aboso in the Shama District of the Western Region.
Four dead bodies have so far been recovered from the site of the explosion. Officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have told Citi News that 22 persons were at the site when the explosion occurred. The four bodies retrieved included three Ghanaians and one foreigner.
Five injured persons are currently receiving treatment at the hospital, while nine have been discharged. Four persons are however unaccounted for. “Four persons have been found dead. They are at the mortuary at the moment. Three blacks and one white lady. The other four Chinese cannot be found. We are trying to get an excavator to find out if many have been trapped,” the Shama District Officer of NADMO, Emmanual Nyan, told Citi News earlier on Sunday.
