A dynamite explosion at Aboso in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region on Thursday, August 4, has left four people dead and several others injured.

According to an eyewitness account, the unfortunate incident occurred after a gunshot intended to kill a snake hit the victims.The man allegedly fired a gun at a snake, accidentally hitting explosives that had been stored near a gas station at Breman, causing a massive explosion.

“We heard a loud sound, which many of us thought was an earthquake. We later found out that a man who is known to be dealing in explosives had gone to hide some of these explosives around a gas station in Breman. He fired the gun aimed at the snake, but it ended up hitting the explosives that were hidden and ended up exploding, killing many of the people who were around,” the eyewitness added.

In 2024, more than five hundred (500) individuals who lost their properties as a result of rock blasting exercise at Buduburam have received compensation from government.

Following a prolonged wait, the government has finally delivered on its promise to support those impacted by the incident.

Although some recipients voiced their dissatisfaction with the compensation amount, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Gomoa East, Solomon Darko Quarm, assured that the government had also provided inconvenience allowances to those affected.

The Gomoa East DCE noted, “Today we are paying compensation for the blast that occurred at Buduburam. Over 500 people are being compensated today. Shops, damaged vehicles, and other residential property owners are being compensated. There are rumours that ECOWAS is the one paying the compensation, but I want to state on authority that ECOWAS is not the one making the payment.

“This is a government of Ghana project, not ECOWAS as is being purported. All this shared propaganda is just because of the elections. We finished our work as a committee, and the contractor called that we must come for the money and distribute it to the affected people. Those in the first group and the last have all been factored in the distribution.”

Mr Quarm also noted that those who lost property earlier this year due to the diversion and flooding along the Gomoa Okyereko stretch have been compensated with building materials.

At the same time, Director of the District National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Robert Hackman, expressed frustration with some recipients who had overvalued their destroyed property, adding that this has created an added burden for the committee.The blasting exercise which took place in October was carried out by Nag Fairmount Construction Limited for the Kasoa-Winneba road project destroying several properties, including shops along the area.

Three lives were tragically lost and several others sustained injuries due to the incident.