Wednesday, December 12, 2007

2 DIE OF GAS POISONING ...1b

Story: Kwame Asare Boadu & Enoch Darfah Frimpong

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 filling station yesterday, 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.

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