One more victim of the Appiatse explosion, which occurred in January 2022, has died.
The victim who has been in and out of the hospital since the unfortunate incident reportedly suffered a spine injury.
The 27-year-old John Opare passed on at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital where he was on admission on Friday, 23 September 2022.
He had been paralyzed as a result of the spine injury.
The latest death brings the total number to 16.
Thirteen died on the spot and three more in the ensuing months.
Background
Thirteen people lost their lives, and 59 others were injured as of 12 noon on Friday, 21 January, following the massive explosion at Appiatse, near Bogoso, a mining community in the Western Region.
Additionally, 500 homes and 139 families were affected by the tragic incident.
Body parts of several deceased persons were strewn in the disaster area while buildings were reduced to rubble.
A preliminary investigation by the Ghana Police Service revealed that a DAF truck, with registration number WR 2252-18, was conveying explosive material from MAXAM Company, Tarkwa, to Chirano Gold Mines in the Western North Region.
A motorcycle rider from the opposite direction is said to have run into the truck when it got to a section of the road between Bogoso and Bawdie. The rider however insists he did not collide with the explosive-carrying truck as being reported.
He indicated that he was rather hit by another vehicle from behind and rushed to a nearby health facility before the explosion even occurred.
Following the unfortunate disaster, a fund was set up to temporarily cater for displaced victims and injured persons.
So far, the Appiatse Support Fund, which was set up to mobilize adequate funds to rebuild the community, has received over GH¢ 42 million in donations.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, said the money raised so far includes donations from individuals and corporate institutions.
“As of Monday, 6 June 2022, the committee had received cash donations of GH¢42,527,380.2. The amount includes the four instalment payments made by Maxam Ghana Limited.
“Out of this amount, GH¢1 million has been advanced to the Appiatse Reconstruction Implementation Committee to complete temporary structures to accommodate the victims of the incident, ending the reconstruction and undertaking preparatory works for more permanent construction,” he said during a press briefing.
He indicated that the committee has also received non-monetary contributions such as “wood, cement, clothing and food items” from benevolent individuals.