There was pandemonium at Michel Camp, near Tema in the early hours of yesterday when an explosion rocked the Base Ammunition Depot (BAD), near the First Battalion of Infantry.
The explosion was so loud that people at Kpone which is about 20 kilometers away heard it.
The explosion triggered a stampede, as residents scurried to safety resulting in injuries to some of them.
Residents of Kakasunaka Number One and its surroundings communities said they were living in fear in the aftermath of the explosion as they dread a possible recurrence.
They said the skyline at the Camp was filled with a thick plume of smoke from the raging fire which was triggered by the explosions which caused a slight tremor in the vicinity.
Shrapnel from destroyed rocket grenade launchers fell around them as though they were in a battle zone.
Patients in nearby health facilities were hurriedly evacuated in ambulances from the supposed danger zone.
Those, who could run, did so with all their might to escape the threatening conflagration.
It took the intervention of personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to bring the inferno under control.
Although the cause of the explosion is yet to be established, some people have attributed it to excessive heat at the armoury and poor maintenance by keepers of the armaments.
There was no marked damage to the main armoury or structure containing the ammunition although damaged doors and roofing were seen when DAILY GUIDE visited the scene.
Some military personnel were seen picking the pieces of shrapnel and other stuff for analysis.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Lt General Obed Akwa, who toured the area with Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul and other top military officers, told the media that a committee would be instituted to unravel the cause of the explosion.
“A major investigation will be conducted into this situation and that is immediately, and within the next couple of weeks we shall come out with our findings and any measures we need to take to prevent this occurrence,” he indicated.
According to him, steps would be taken to ensure that other stores with explosives are isolated.
“As at now, everything is under control, there is no threat to the people living within this settlement. The minister, Chief of Army Staff, other senior staff and I have gone around the scene,” he stated.
The CDS observed that although the destruction is serious, they are not expecting any further escalation of the situation.
He made passionate appeal to residents of the community who might come across any foreign objects not to touch them but inform the authorities at the First Battalion of Infantry.
In March 2013, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) made plans to relocate the ammunition depot from its present base to two sites- one in the north and the other in the south to avoid the situation which cropped up yesterday.
Planners of military installations across the country sited armouries and magazines away from residential areas but developments have changed the situation, bringing residents closer to the military installations.
An armoury is a secured place where the military’s weapons are kept and magazine is a fortified and secured location where ammunition, bombs and explosives are stored.
Whereas armouries are close to working areas, magazines are sited far away from troops in view of the dangers they pose.
By Vincent Kubi, Michel Camp, Tema