Freak accident on Cape Coast highway

Cape Coast, Feb. 3, GNA- One person was injured, when three vehicles, a brand new saloon car and two taxi cabs, ran into each other, due to poor visibility caused by a thick smoke from a fire set near the Ameen Sangari industries on the Cape Coast- Takoradi highway, at Cape Coast on Friday morning.

It took personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) about one hours to put out the fire, suspected to have been set by some prisoners engaged to clear some weeds within the area. When the GNA visited the scene, personnel of the service were busily putting out the fire, while the police were conducting investigations, to have the three vehicles which were badly damaged, cleared from the road.

Three passengers on two of the vehicles told the GNA that they heard a "big bang" and alighted and ran into the bush, without realizing that there was fire there, because "they were confused by the thick smoke".

The Assistant Division Officer (ADO) in charge of the University of Cape Coast branch of the GNFS, Mr Anthony Edusah, later told the GNA that the thick smoke "had engulfed the area", making visibility difficult.

He said a Mitsubishi Lancer taxi cab, crashed into the rear of a brand new Opel Astral saloon car, as a result, and that the Opel car, in turn hit the rear of another taxi cab, a Hyundai Excel. Mr Edusah advised that people should seek professional advice before setting fire, especially during the dry season, and, took the opportunity, to educate the prisoners and prison officers at the scene on fire prevention.

Personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the police service, who were at the accident scene, however, told the GNA that they were yet to ascertain the cause of the accident. 3 Feb. 06