Five mourners die in accident

Mampong (Ash), April.4, GNA - Bosofour township near Asante-Mampong was on Saturday thrown into a state of shock when a vehicle carrying sachet water ran into a group of mourners at the cemetery killing five people. Four died on the spot and the fifth died, while being conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

Five others who sustained serious injuries and in critical conditions were rushed to the Mampong district hospital where they are on admission. In the ensuing confusion, the coffin was smashed and the corpse fell on the ground.

The deceased are yet to be identified but three of the injured were identified as Victor Brenya, Kofi Okai Marfo and Afua Oforiwa. Briefing the Ghana News Agency, the Mampong police said the truck, which was carrying sachet water from Kumasi to Mampong developed faulty brakes.

The police said, while descending a hill towards Bosofour, the driver suddenly saw the mourners, including those carrying the coffin led by a vehicle emerge from the opposite direction on to the road to the cemetery. Unable to save the situation, the vehicle carrying the sachet water first rammed into the vehicle leading the mourners before running into the mourners.

The coffin consequently fell and got dismantled, throwing the corpse on the ground, while the rest of the mourners fled helter skelter. The police said, the family of the deceased, who was going to be buried had to buy a new coffin for the burial.

Meanwhile the bodies of those killed on the spot had been deposited at the Mampong hospital for autopsy while the drivers of the two vehicles are on the run.