The Koforidua Effiduase District Police Command has launched an investigation into a tragic incident that resulted in the deaths of three technicians who suffocated inside a reservoir located at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) office in Koforidua, Eastern Region.
The incident occurred on Monday, leaving the community in shock and mourning. The three individuals involved in the incident were identified as Ashie, Octopus, and Jonathan. They were part of a team of five technical experts contracted by the PBC workshop to perform maintenance work on the fuel reservoir at the COCOBOD office.
The circumstances leading to their suffocation remain unclear at this time. Tragically, two other workers attempting to rescue their colleague who had entered the reservoir also succumbed to the same fate.
Colleagues of the victims at the scene promptly reported the incident to the relevant authorities, triggering a swift response. An emergency response team, including personnel from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Municipal Secretariat, Effiduase Police Command, Ghana Ambulance Service, and the Ghana National Fire Service, swiftly arrived at the location to assist in retrieving the victims’ bodies from the underground tank.
Kankam Twumasi Daniel, the Deputy Municipal Director of NADMO for New Juaben North, stated that the police have already initiated investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“Around 11 o’clock, NADMO received a call about an incident at PBC yard. So, we had to rush there. When we got there, per our investigations, five gentlemen were contracted by the management of the facility to do some maintenance work in their reservoir tank containing fuel and unfortunately, three of them had drowned.
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“We had to call other departments, thus the Ghana Fire Service, Ghana Police Service, and Ambulance Service so that we could extricate the bodies from the tank” he added.
The bodies of the deceased have been transported to the St. Joseph’s Hospital mortuary in Effiduase for preservation and autopsy.
