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At least 73 dead in Ghana after explosion at gas station

ACCRA, Ghana — A gas station in Ghana’s capital blew up while people sought shelter there from a torrential rainfall and flooding, killing at least ...

ACCRA, Ghana -- A gas station in Ghana's capital blew up while people sought shelter there from a torrential rainfall and flooding, killing at least 73 people. The flooding had swept fuel stored at the gas station into a nearby neighborhood, where a fire ignited it, an official said.

The blast Wednesday night near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, in the center of Accra, left a gruesome scene with charred bodies and neighboring buildings set alight.

Billy Anaglate, spokesman for Ghana's national fire service, said Wednesday night's flooding ``caused the diesel and petrol to flow away from the gas station, and fire from a nearby house led to the explosion.''

Crews were recovering bodies early Thursday and officials at the nearby 37 Military Hospital said its morgue had reached capacity.

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