E /R: Over 300 Residents Sue Over Quarry Blast

Over 300 residents of Asuboi in the Ayensuano District of the Eastern region have sued two quarry companies for causing damage to their homes and properties.

 

The companies who have been sued are the China International Water & Electric Corporation – a Chinese construction and engineering company which has finished operating at the quarry site and handed over to a new one known as Anigord Famille Quarry Company.

 

The affected residents have filed a suit at the Koforidua High Court praying the court to compel the companies to pay compensation for damages and also ensure that due diligence is done during the blasting process.

 

The houses of the locals have developed deep cracks with roof damages from flying stones as a result of the blast.

According to the residents, the activities of the quarry companies apart from the health implications have also affected their properties and created a lot of inconveniences for them.

The Administrative Manager of Anigord Famille Quarry Company, Alfred Turkson, told Starr News, the company has started evaluating the damage and has reduced the magnitude of blast over the suit.

“As you can see, a week to every blasting, there is information center in town, to announce to the community that on Thursday and Saturdays normally we do blasting, the only complaint we had was excessive blasting which we have taken care of,” Turkson said.

“During the last blasting we brought the Minerals Commission who brought their machines to test the impact. We have heard of so many complaints that anytime there is blasting most houses crack, old ladies get frightened so we have reduced the blasting, there is a matter in court and we are ready to pay compensation if the court determines that our company caused it because most of the damages were caused before we took over from CWE.”

The Ayensuano Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization S.D Kodua after visiting the site asked the company to adhere to work safety precautions as well as obey the Environmental Protection Agency’s laid down rules in their operations.

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E /R: Over 300 Residents Sue Over Quarry Blast

Update: Nsawam ‘dynamite’ Explosion

Security agencies have begun an operation to defuse left over explosives at the Akuabo quarry site at Paebo in the Eastern Region.

An explosion on Wednesday left one person dead and more than 10 people injured.

Many residents have been left homeless after the explosion ripped roofs of their houses.

Police have cordoned off the area to prevent residents from getting close and triggering another explosion.

Personnel from the National Security Secretariat, Army, Fire Service and Police have been trying to defuse explosives in a more than a dozen containers at the site.

Deputy Regional Police Commander ACP James Abass says they are working to make the place safe again.

“We are still doing the crime scene search and crime scene preservation and our concentration is on the crime scene itself. So our concentration now is at the crime scene.

“There some unexploded items there which we must as soon as possible try to detonate so our attention is focused on that aspect. We are looking for to defuse them so that they do not explode,” he added.

He said the security agencies are doing all they can to ensure that things do not get out of hand.

Meanwhile, police have picked up one person in connection with the fatal explosion.

Sources say the arrested official of AKY Mining Services, owners of the quarry company, was picked up on Friday.

The unnamed official is believed to be the Personal Assistant to the owner of the company who is out of the country.

Update: Nsawam ‘dynamite’ Explosion