ACCRA - Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has announced three days of national mourning after a deadly petrol station fire killed at least 90 people in the capital, Accra.
The fire in the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area of the city is thought to have started in a property next to the filling station, where people were sheltering from days of heavy rain that had flooded the streets.
Police have told AFP the death toll was “hovering around 90”, but was expected to rise.
“Rescue operations will continue until the weekend, Sunday. On Monday, we will observe three days of national mourning for the victims of the fire disaster and flooding,” said Mr Mahama, who visited the scene and looked visibly shaken.
Mr Mahama said flags would fly at half-mast from Monday for three days.
“Our first priority now is to save lives and prevent any further suffering of our people, but beyond that we’ll take the tough measures that are necessary to prevent such disasters from occurring in the future,” he said.
The flooding has been blamed on open drains and sewers clogged with rubbish that overflowed during seasonal rains.