HazardEx - Regional News

Ghanaian tanker drivers blame high propane content in LPG as cause of recent explosions [Updated] 17 October 2017

According to GhanaWeb, the Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Truck Drivers is blaming the high propane content in gas from the Atuabo processing plant as the cause of recent gas explosions during discharge at filling stations in the country. The most recent explosion, at Atomic Junction in a suburb of Accra on October 7, killed seven and injured at least 132....

Gas terminal blasts kill seven in Ghana 09 October 2017

At least seven were killed and scores injured, mostly suffering burns, after a series of explosions at a natural gas station in Ghana's capital, Accra, on October 7. A statement from the Ghanaian Ministry of Information the following day said that seven people had been killed and 132 injured. About half of them had already been treated and discharged, the statement said....

Explosion at South African factory injures at least 11 04 October 2017

An explosion rocked the city of East London in south eastern South Africa, injuring at least 11 people, local authorities said on October 4. The explosion took place at one of the factories at the East London Industrial Development Zone the previous evening, a police spokesperson said. Those injured had been sent to hospital for treatment, she said....

Gas explosion and fire kills seven, injures dozens at Ethiopia stadium construction site 08 September 2017

Witnesses have confirmed that seven workers died and dozens more were injured in a gas explosion at Ethiopia's national stadium construction site on August 8. The explosion was not reported until a local newspaper published interviews with survivors on September 5. The main contractor, Chinese State Engineering Corporation Ltd (CSCEC), has refused to comment on the incident....

Nigeria to legalise mini refineries in Delta 07 August 2017

The Nigerian government has said it will legalise mini refineries in the oil-rich Niger Delta and supply them with crude oil at a reasonable price by the end of the year. The move is aimed at ending the theft of oil from pipelines in the Delta, which has many illegal refineries that process the stolen oil. Communities there say they do not benefit from the oil extracted from their region....

Ghana fish cannery blast kills two 13 June 2017

An explosion at a fuel pump at the Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC), a tuna canning company, killed two persons and left five others with burn injuries on May 11, according to local sources. A fuel pump that connects the steam boiler facility at the company’s production plant developed a fault and was being replaced when sparks from welding work ignited fuel leaking from the pump. ...

South African refinery blast injures 11 22 May 2017

On May 22, a blast at the Natref oil refinery injured 11 people, according to a statement by plant co-owner Sasol. The 108,000 barrel per day refinery, situated in Sasolburg south of Johannesburg, remains operational but facilities in the vicinity of the hydrogen compressors where the blast occurred have been closed down....

Explosion kills at least 29 illegals in South African gold mine 19 May 2017

An explosion on May 11 reportedly killed dozens of illegal miners in Harmony Gold’s Eland mine in Welkom, Free State, local authorities announced on May 12. A week later, 29 bodies had been recovered from the closed mine, local media said, with some of the bodies dragged for 13km through underground tunnels by rescuers to bring the bodies to the surface. ...

Ghana road tanker explosion hospitalises more than 150 15 May 2017

On May 9 a road tanker near the Olam Oil depot in Takoradi, south-western Ghana, caught fire and exploded. More than 150 were injured in the blast and were taken to the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital and the Takoradi Government Hospital. Some of the injured are said to have suffered second-degree burns with a few referred to the Cape Coast Hospital....

Anti-piracy NGO says West Africa, Somalia and South-East Asia remained problem areas in 2016 03 May 2017

A report issued on May 2 by anti-piracy NGO Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) found an upsurge in pirate activity in some areas, and residual problems in areas where previous years had seen a reduction in piracy. The 2016 State of Maritime Piracy report includes analyses of the situation in the Western Indian Ocean, West Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean....