Environmental expert Professor Christopher Gordon has said the catastrophic events of 3rd June, 2015 in Accra, which claimed more than 150 lives, were entirely preventable.
The disaster, which involved severe flooding and a deadly explosion at the GOIL fuel station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle, is still regarded as one of Ghana’s darkest days.
Heavy rains that night overwhelmed the city’s drainage system, leading to extensive flooding. Amid the chaos, fuel leaking from the filling station caught fire, killing dozens who had sought refuge there.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Wednesday, 4th June, Prof. Gordon reflected on the tragedy, expressing disbelief over the scale of the loss.
“My personal recollection was that this was a tragedy. A tragedy that could have been avoided,” he said.
“When the number of people who had perished started to be reported, I found it so unbelievable. It was like the stadium disaster in terms of its magnitude—again, something that could have been avoided.”
He lamented the horrific nature of the deaths, noting the suffering endured by victims. “Death by fire or drowning is nothing to be wished for on anybody. But you remember that so many people were maimed,” he recalled sombrely.
Prof. Gordon attributed the scale of the disaster to a combination of human negligence and environmental mismanagement.
“I would say it was a combination of indiscipline and climate change, coupled with a lack of standards,” he explained, calling for urgent reforms in urban planning and stronger enforcement of regulations.
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