Many killed and hurt in Ghana collision explosion

Salvage operations began in western Ghana on Friday after a explosion which left at least 17 people dead and dozens more injured. The blast in Apiate, near Bogoso, a mining town in the Prestea-Huni Valley district, happened a day earlier when a vehicle carrying mining explosives blew up after colliding with a motorcycle, officials said.

The explosion reduced buildings in the village, which has a population of about 500, to piles of debris. Many people were injured as they tried to get to the scene of the accident and were caught in the explosion, the district's municipal chief executive Isaac Dsamani said.