Two men die of gas poisoning in Kumasi

In what the police suspect to be a case of gas poisoning, two workers of the Natony Gas Filling Station at Ohwimase in Kumasi have been found dead inside a huge gas tank which they tried to clean. Benjamin Mbah, 35, said to be an engineer of the company, and Twumasi Agyapong, a 32-year-old apprentice engineer were found dead in the tank when a rescue team from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) entered the tank. They were not wearing any protective equipment. The acting Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Seth Oteng, told the.Daily Graphic that an autopsy would enable the police to take further action on the case. He said the proprietor of the station, Mr Tony Nimako, had already been invited for questioning, after which he was released on bail. ACP Oteng did not disclose details of the proprietor's statement but said the man had indicated that he was not at the station when the incident occurred. When Daily Graphic reporters visited the fill¬ing station Tuesday, it was closed and a "No Gas" sign placed at the main entrance. The acting Regional Police Commander said it was a routine duty for workers to go inside the tank to clean it, adding that Mbah and Agyapong had undertaken that duty on 10 occasions without any problem. ACP Oteng said on Monday, the two were once again detailed to clean the tank, which was supposed to be empty. Mbah was said to have entered the tank first about 7.40 a.m. and within minutes his colleague joined him. The acting commander indicated that after about 30 minutes when there was no sign that they were coming out, the GNFS was called in. On entering the tank, the two were found dead. The bodies of the two have been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) for autopsy. When contacted, the Assistant Divisional Officer in charge of Public Relations at the GNFS in Ashanti Mr Franklin Masiku, said the necessary precautionary measures were not taken in cleaning the tank. He noted that safety regulations demanded that before the tank could be cleaned, it should be filled with water for the gas in it to evaporate, "but unfortunately nobody at the company did that, resulting in the death of the two people". Mr Masiku stated that it was also surprising that the. deceased persons did not wear any protective devices to prevent them from inhaling the gas and said it was time facilities like gas filling stations took safety measures very seriously. He indicated that when his office had the message in the morning that the two had been trapped in the tank, firemen rushed to the scene but it was too late to save them even though firemen managed to bring the victims, out of the tank. Source: Daily Graphic