Ghana players wear black armbands against Panama at FIFA U20 World Cup after 175 killed in country
Ghana players at the FIFA U20 World Cup wore black armbands on Friday in their final group match against Panama to mourn the 175 people killed during an inferno at a petrol station after heavy rains in their country.
The Black Satellites chose the big stage with global television audience to show their sympathy for the families of those killed following the raging inferno in their country's capital Accra.
They wore the black armband to show solidarity with the people of the country who have been thrown into mourning and crucially used the football tool to show their sympathy.
All the players of the national team and the country's football federation have been thrown into mourning following the deaths in Accra.
At least 150 people were killed on Wednesday night in a blaze at a petrol station in the Ghanaian capital.
It is believed that many of the victims were sheltering from the incredible downpours that have been affecting the country over the last few days when the fire broke out.
The conditions impeded rescue efforts and may indeed have caused the inferno, according to the BBC, with water mixing with the fuel to create a flammable area around the gas station.
The heavy rain has also left many without power and has resulted in swathes of the population being left homeless, although the true extent of the damage and the impact of the rains are yet to be seen.
President John Dramani Mahama has announced three days of national mourning to remember those caught up in the petrol station disaster, which he described as ‘catastrophic’.
President Mahama visited the burnt-out petrol station and described the deaths as "catastrophic" and "almost unprecedented".
He vowed to take tough measures to stop people building on waterways, which appeared to have been a factor in the disaster.
"I think that the time has come for us to remove houses out of water and the public should understand that it is necessary to save everybody else," he said.
Following an emergency meeting of cabinet and security chiefs on how to tackle flooding, the government says it will release £9m ($14m) to help flood victims.
Schools were closed across the capital and children asked to stay at home.
Bus conductor Yaw Aforve was sleeping in his vehicle which was parked at the petrol station when the fire started.
He said he jumped into the floodwaters and when he came up for air, the fire burnt his face.
"I was swept away by the water to the other side [of the road]," he added. "I saw so many people screaming and shouting."
The flooding helped cause the fire, the Ghana fire service said.
The waters "caused the diesel and petrol to flow away from the gas station, and fire from a nearby house led to the explosion", spokesman Billy Anaglate said, the Associated Press news agency reports.
On the scene - Sammy Darko, BBC Africa, Accra
Two days of heavy rain has brought much of the city to its knees.
There are chaotic scenes with cars being carried away by the water and many roads blocked off.
Hundreds have been trapped in their offices and some have been forced to spend the night in their cars as traffic came to a standstill.
Parts of Accra have been left without power as electricity sub-stations have been damaged in the flooding, which is making the ongoing energy shortages even worse.
Many homes have been flooded and people have been wandering around in their nightclothes after being forced to leave their beds.
One man told a local radio station that he had put his children on top of a wardrobe to save them from the water coming into his house.
Weather forecasters are saying that more rain is on its way.
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