One dead, several injured in tipper truck and fuel tanker crash on Accra–Tema Motorway

One person has died and several others sustained injuries following a head-on collision between a tipper truck and a fuel tanker on the Accra–Tema Motorway.

The crash occurred between Saka Saka Park and Tanink Ghana in the late hours of Monday, June 8, according to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).

The GNFS says its rapid, multi-station response prevented what could have become a catastrophic fuel tanker explosion.

The tanker, which reportedly belongs to GIG EMPIRE, caught fire immediately after the collision and was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

According to the GNFS, the first emergency call was received at about 23:49 hours, prompting immediate deployment from the Tema Motorway Fire Crew, which arrived at the scene within minutes.

"The Tema Motorway Fire Crew led by ADO I Samuel Darko was immediately dispatched at 23:50 hrs and arrived on scene at 23:54 hrs, finding the fuel tanker fully engulfed in flames," the service said in its report issued on Tuesday.

It noted that reinforcements were later drawn from the Ashaiman Fire Station and Tema Industrial Area Fire Station, with additional support from a water tanker provided by the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly.

The coordinated effort, according to the GNFS, helped bring the blaze under control after nearly an hour of intense firefighting.

"The fierce fire was brought under control at 00:56 hrs and fully extinguished at 01:44 hrs," the GNFS confirmed.

Three injured victims identified as Kwabena Agyapong, Joseph Teye Quarshie, and Aaron Kyei were rushed to the Tema General Hospital before firefighters arrived on the scene.

The charred remains of a male, believed to be the driver of the tipper truck, were later retrieved and handed over to the police for preservation and investigation.

Meanwhile, cooling operations and scene management are still ongoing in collaboration with the police as traffic gradually normalises on the motorway.