Over 78 killed in Ghana petrol station explosion

At least 78 people have been killed in an explosion at a petrol station in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, according to a fire brigade spokesman.

Many of the victims had been sheltering from torrential rain, a spokesman for the national fire brigade told local radio station Joy FM.

About a dozen people were taken to hospital after the blast, which is believed to have been an accident linked to the downpour, Reuters quoted the spokesman as saying.

Images purportedly from the scene showed the remains of at least six vehicles under a charred petrol station canopy.

Accra’s city authorities had already been under pressure to declare a state of emergency after hours of heavy rain caused severe flooding in and around the capital.