The Koforidua Effiduase District Police Command is investigating the circumstances under which three technicians suffocated to death at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) office in Koforidua in the Eastern region on Monday.

The three, identified as Mr. Ashie, Octopus, and Jonathan, were part of five technical experts hired by the PBC workshop to maintain a fuel reservoir at the COCOBOD office. All three men were employees of a private company that had been contracted by COCOBOD to carry out the maintenance works.

It is unclear how the incident occurred, but two workers in an attempt to rescue one of the workers who entered the reservoir and suffocated also suffocated to death while trying to rescue their colleague.

Two witnesses, who were colleagues of the victims and present at the scene, reported the incident to the authorities.

COCOBOD has expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and has promised to provide them with all the necessary support.

However, the Eastern Regional Fire Commander ACFO1, Jennifer Naa Yarley Quaye said the accident occurred as a result of gross negligence, stating that safety precautions were not put in place to prevent such misfortune.

She also advised individuals and organizations to hire experts whenever they need to work on leaked fuel tanks or clean them.

A twitter user, Sika Official posted this on his X profile with pictures of the gory incident. Viewer’s discretion is advised.

The police have also started investigations into the accident to determine the cause and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.