By Eric Marfo/Samuel Osei-Frempong
Accra, June 3, GNA – On the morning of June 3, 2026, a group of survivors and mourners gathered at the GOIL filling station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra to remember a tragedy that ripped the heart out of the nation 11 years ago.
More than 150 people died in the flood and fire disaster, while many others survived but now carry scars that tell a sorrow deeper than words.
Among them is Kassim Suraj, a former commercial driver from Kasoa, whose life was shattered forever on that night.
Mr Suraj recalled returning home from work with his wife and child and stopping near the fuel station to buy fuel.
But attendants told him water had entered the fuel system and they could not serve customers.
He said he noticed the sharp, dangerous smell of fuel and decided to leave with his family.
As they walked away, his wife’s terrified cry stopped him in his tracks.
“When I turned, the fire came and consumed me,” he recounted, his voice trembling.
Mr Suraj lost consciousness and only regained awareness after weeks in hospital.
A year later, he was told the unbearable truth: both his wife and child had perished in the disaster.
More than a decade later, the severe burns on his body have locked him out of work. He now survives on the kindness of well-wishers and occasional media appeals.
Another survivor, Jonathan, popularly known as “Atta,” said he was the only worker left standing after the explosion tore through the shop where he worked.
He suffered devastating burns to his back, buttocks, and left leg — injuries that will never fully heal.
Jonathan said his recovery was made possible by Rev. Dr Kwadwo Boateng Bempah of the Holy Hill Assemblies of God, near the scene, who supported him for years and helped raise GH₵20,000 for corrective surgery on his damaged leg.
Though the operation improved his mobility, he still relies on crutches and struggles daily to make a living.
With both parents and his twin brother now gone, Jonathan says he feels abandoned and alone.
“I am alone. Life has been very difficult,” he whispered.
The June 3, 2015, disaster struck when torrential rains unleashed deadly floods across Accra, while a fire outbreak at the GOIL filling station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle triggered a massive explosion as fuel mixed with floodwaters.
The tragedy claimed 159 lives and left more than 200 people injured, making it one of the deadliest peacetime disasters in Ghana’s history.
GNA
Reporter: Eric Appah Marfo
[email protected]
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong*