An expert in explosives, Professor Joseph Jigalee Ombonaa, has raised suspicions suggesting that combination of different explosives resulted in the Appiatse explosion.
Speaking on Court Nkomo TV with Ama Brako Ampofo, Prof. Ombonaa said he was “100% convinced” that the car which was transporting the explosives was carrying different materials, for which reason the community saw that magnitude of destruction.
“Two different explosives should be transported separately. If they are not at the working site where they will enter one whole, we transport them separately.
“And one cannot detonate without the other. Just as a woman cannot get pregnant without a man, the components depend on each other to function. Without its mate nothing An can detonate on this earth, no matter the heat, fire or temperature, ” said the expert.
On the extent of damage, he explained that since the environment where the blast occurred was a residential area, the people and their properties fell within the “exclusion zone” of 500 meters radius−the range within which the force of the blast can reach and cause destruction.
“The air from the detonation is able to sweep everything down. If you are not solid, it will sweep everything down.”
That said, the company which transported the explosives, according to him, did not act with due diligence in ensuring that the materials were moved in safety.
“I don’t believe that there was a police escort for the car, as they are purporting, but that can be verified from the Police Station. They have a special book which records the number of people, the time your application came for the police escort, they have all the information recorded. So, it will all come out whether there was a police escort or not” he noted.
Meanwhile the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources during the launch of the Appiatse Support fund to help families and victims of the disaster, indicated that the security agencies have launched an investigation into the occurrence and persons found culpable will be brought to book.
Currently, 13 people have been confirmed dead while 59 others in critical condition following the explosion on January 20, 2022.
