Ghana blast: Many feared dead after huge explosion near Bogoso
At least 17 people have been killed in a huge explosion near a mining town in south-western Ghana, officials say.
Police say a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine collided with a motorcycle near the town of Bogoso.
Images shared by local media showed a large plume of black smoke rising above flattened buildings and scattered debris as residents call for help.
Graphic videos showed mutilated bodies of victims. A large crater can also be seen beside a road.
"It's almost like a ghost town now," Sedzi Sadzi Amedonu, a senior official from the country's disaster management agency, told the AFP news agency.
He said about 500 houses were affected - some of which were completely destroyed - in Appiatse between Bogoso and the village of Bawdie.
At least 59 people were injured, some of whom were in a critical condition, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said.
There are fears that the number of confirmed deaths may rise as emergency teams comb through the remains of the houses.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60074511