The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has assured residents of Appiatse that the government is collaborating with mining companies and the State Housing Corporation to rebuild the farming community which was levelled by a huge explosion on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
Speaking after a tour of the community on Friday, January 21, 2022, Vice President Bawumia expressed the condolences of the government to the families of the 13 persons who had died from the blast so far.
Dr Bawumia also stressed that the government would do everything on its part to support the families of the deceased and the injured and cater for the medical bills of the 179 injured persons.
He further commended the various security agencies and the community members for their swift response to the tragedy.
For the houses that have been destroyed, we are already beginning to think about how to rehabilitate and rebuild for the community here,” Dr Bawumia said.
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I want to assure Nananom that his Excellency the President (Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) has already given the directive. We have already spoken to the State Housing Corporation and are in consultation with the mining companies around here, we will quickly try to put in place facilities that will help those who have been displaced. That will be a priority for all of us.
Just to assure you that government is fully engaged in all these processes and we are going to see to it that the people here are taken care of. We will learn lessons… but for now, we are very much concerned about how to complete this rescue effort, how to take care of the injured, how to take care of the families and people who have survived”.
Hospital bills
After a visit to some of the injured victims of the explosion who are receiving treatment at Aseda Health Centre, Bogoso, Dr. Bawumia also disclosed that the government would cater for all their medical bills.
Cause of explosion
Preliminary investigations by the Police have established that a mining explosive vehicle moving from Tarkwa to the Chirano Gold Mines collided with a motorcycle resulting in the explosion at Appiatse, a farming community between Bogoso and Bawdie in the Prestea Huni-Valley municipality in the Western Region.
Most of the victims were rescued and are on admission at various hospitals and clinics within the Bogoso Municipality.