Bloody Sunday•35 Perish

Remains of the accident victims THIRTY-FIVE persons died on the spot when a 33-seater Benz bus and a trailer truck collided at Kadia near Diare in the Savelugu-Nanton district of the Northern Region in the early hours of yesterday.

The dead were mainly occupants of the Benz bus whose registration number was not immediately known by the police.

The bus was heading toward Garu from Kumasi, while the truck with registration number NR 1096 S loaded with onions, was from the opposite direction.

The incident, police sources revealed, occurred on the dawn of Sunday February 15 at about 3:30 am.

According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the truck lost control of his vehicle and ran into the Benz bus and another salon car with registration number GW 991 S, killing all occupants instantly.  

A Neoplan bus with registration number AS 5054 J, reported to be following the truck, also veered off the road and was tipped over.  

The driver of the Neoplan bus, Musah Mustapha told DAILY GUIDE that immediately the other vehicles collided, his mind went blank and he subsequently lost control of his vehicle also.

The Regional MTTU boss, ASP Nana Kumi who was at the scene of the accident, bemoaned the recklessness of drivers on the roads and advised them to adhere to road regulations to avoid needless accidents that constantly claim innocent lives.  

He said his outfit would conduct an investigation into the matter and anyone who falls foul of the law would be dealt with.

 As at press time yesterday, a combined team of personnel from the Ghana Fire Service and police were trying to recover more bodies from the wreckage.  

The recovered bodies have since been deposited at the Tamale Teaching Hospital mortuary pending autopsy.  

In a related development, three students of the Ambariyya English and Arabic School at Tamale died on the spot when a 207 Benz bus they were traveling on got involved in an accident on the Damongo-Fufulso road.  

The vehicle, which was conveying the students to the Mole Park on an excursion, somersaulted several times and finally landed on the chasis.   

Several of the students who sustained various degrees of injury were rushed to the Damongo District Hospital for treatment and later referred to the Tamale Teaching Hospital where they are currently receiving medical attention.   

One of the victims, identified as Shafawu Mustapha, a 13-year-old class six pupil of the school told this paper that they were overcrowded in the vehicle.   

According to Shafawu, the driver of the vehicle who is currently in police custody, lost control of the steering wheel when the vehicle fell in a deep pit in the middle of the dusty road and somersaulted several times.   

She further narrated that at the time of the accident, the three who died were seated on top of the vehicle.   

The mortal remains of the deceased have since been taken to Tamale for burial in accordance with the Islamic tradition.

From Stephen Zoure, Kadia