Dozens of people are feared dead after a truck carrying mining explosives collided with a motorcycle in western Ghana, sparking an explosion that has left hundreds of buildings destroyed. The accident happened around noon in Apiate, near the mining city of Bogoso 300km (180 miles) west of the West African country’s capital Accra. A large crater was left following the explosion, after a truck that was travelling between two goldmines in the mineral rich region, hit a motorcycle. The exact number of casualties has not been officially confirmed, but the head of the Prestea Huni-Valley municipal government, where the explosion took place, Isaac Dsamani, told local media that officials had counted “about 17 dead bodies.” Graphic images and footage posted by local media and eye witnesses showed dead and injured bodies on the ground, and homes levelled and destroyed. BREAKING: Truck carrying explosive materials ignites in southwest Ghana, destroying buildings and killing many people pic.twitter.com/7lYgHMvM4Q — BNO News (@BNONews) January 20, 2022 Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo said the blast was “a truly sad, unfortunate and tragic incident,” in a statement, and said that the blast had caused “the loss of lives and the destruction of properties.” The extent of the destruction and casualties caused by the blast has sent shock waves through Ghana. Emergency services said were continuing rescue efforts in the town and most of the surviving victims had been rescued he said, many found trapped in collapsed homes and buildings. “Some of them were in their rooms, and then they were trapped. We were able to rescue some of them. Some of them too, unfortunately before we rescued them they had already gone,” Dsamani said. Eye witnesses told local officials that after the collision, a driver involved in the accident tried to warn local residents to flee, after the motorcylce caught fire. “So the driver got down and was telling people to run away. And some people was trying to find out what was really happening. While the driver was shouting that people should run away... In about 10minutes time, the whole thing exploded,” Dsamani said. “So people who had tried to arrive to the scene, were the people who were mostly affected.” A statement by the police said “preliminary investigation has established that a mining explosive vehicle … collided with a motorcycle resulting in the explosion”. Early assessments have found that 500 buildings were damaged by the blast according to emergency officials. Nearby hospitals and clinics were overrun with victims local officials said. Police have asked surrounding villages to open their schools and churches to accommodate any additional casualties. Local residents were also being urged by police to evacuate the vicinity of the blast. Reinforcements have been deployed to the scene and people near the blast have been asked to move to nearby villages,” the police added, while appealing for calm. Dr Joseph Dark, working at Apiate hospital, told AFP that five of the casualties had been taken there, “including a five-year-old child who is in a life-threatening condition”.