16 Killed In Accident

A 22-wheeler heavy duty M.A.N Diesel truck, in the wee hours of yesterday, collided with a 23-seater Benz bus, on the Tema-Akosombo road, killing 16 people.

Fourteen people died on the spot, while two who sustained serious injury, gave up the ghost later.

The accident occurred at Ningo Kope, close to the Asutsuare Junction at about 4.00am.

The impact of the collision was such that the roof of the Benz bus, with registration number GT 2933 H, was ripped off, with the truck 'climbing' on it, resulting in the death of all but four passengers on board the bus.

The carrier of the bus, which was loaded with big baskets full of banana, went straight into the windscreen of the truck, crashing the driver and mate to death.

The Akuse district police commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Bossoh described the accident as horrible, saying he suspected that some parts of the truck might have broken off, making the driver, identified as one Yahaya, lose control, which caused him to collide with the on-coming Benz bus, which was traveling from Hohoe to Accra.

Eye-witness accounts however had it that there was a parked trailer on the Tema-Akosombo lane of the road which was being used by the truck, and in an attempt to avoid bumping into it, the driver moved into the lane of the on-coming vehicle, resulting in the collision.

Other accounts had it that the truck driver was sleeping while driving and therefore veered into the lane of the on-coming vehicle.

learnt the heavy duty truck, with registration number AS 7175 X, belonged to GHACEM and was from Tema, heading for Odumase to cart limestone back to the port city.

Chief Superintendent Bossoh told that around 4.30 pm, the highway police patrol team got to the scene of the accident and called for support of the military personnel at the Michel Camp, to remove the victims from the mangled Benz bus.

According to him, the truck was in gear and since it had landed on the front section of the Benz bus, it was difficult to tow it.

They therefore had to call for assistance from the Volta River Authority (VRA), which quickly dispatched a recovery vehicle to the scene, so the heavy duty vehicle could be removed from the top of the Benz bus.

“Since the truck climbed onto the front section of the bus, the driver of the bus, identified as John Kpodo, and those sitting in the front were crushed while the other passengers remained seated in their seats as if glued,” he told .

According to the district police commander, after the collision, the M.A.N Diesel truck dragged the Benz bus over a distance of 38 metres before stopping, and most of the victims might have died from internal bleeding or shock from the impact.

As of 1.00 pm yesterday, seven of the dead who were conveyed to the St Martin's Hospital at Agormenya had been identified by relatives.

When visited the Akuse Government Hospital where the injured had been sent, relatives of the two of the injured who died at the hospital had turned the place into a mourning “theatre”.

The children of one of the victims, 42-year-old Afi Aniyenu, could not control their emotions as they wailed uncontrollably.

At the time of filing this report, the surviving two, identified as Judith Akota and Victor Manfo were being conveyed to the Koforidua Central Hospital for further treatment.

The two were on drip. The lady in particular was acting out of shock and constantly looking around in askance, as if to say, “I don't believe I am still alive.”

She gulped down the water that was given to her like somebody who had been thirsty for a very long time.

The medical officer in charge of the Akuse Government Hospital, Dr Ahmed Tijani, speaking to , praised the staff of the hospital for their high sense of duty.

He however bemoaned the condition under which staff of the hospital worked, appealing to the government to quickly upgrade facilities there and provide accommodation for nurses to enable them contain any eventuality, since the hospital was located in an accident-prone district.

“The facilities here are very limited. We need serious expansion, theatre equipment and ventilators,” he pointed out.

From Thomas Fosu Jnr, Akuse