Eight dead in accident near Suhum

A fatal accident involving two Kia Grand Bird buses on the Accra-Kumasi highway about 4.30 a.m. on Wednesday left 11 people dead and many others injured.

The accident occurred when the buses collided head-on at Mankrong, near Suhum in the Eastern Region.

One of the vehicles, with registration number GN 6600-17, was moving from Kumasi to Accra, while the other, with registration number GS 835 - 16, was from Aflao to Kumasi.

Casualties

Information made available to the police by the Suhum Government Hospital indicated that 64 people were sent to the facility, out of which 11 died.

Six of the deceased were males, while the remaining five were females.

The injured, comprising 39 males and 14 females, are currently on admission.

Some of them have been referred to the Koforidua Government Hospital and the St Joseph’s Hospital at Effiduase.

Police reports

The Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP),Mr Ebenezer Tetteh,  told the Daily Graphic that "11 passengers have been confirmed dead".

According to him, the injured were rushed to the Suhum Government Hospital for treatment.

He said the police were yet to identify the drivers of the two vehicles.

Account

Mr Tetteh said while descending a slope at Mankrong, the Kumasi-bound driver overtook a vehicle without observing traffic from the opposite direction. 

"He crashed head-on with the other Kia Grand Bird from Aflao towards Kumasi," he stated.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service from Suhum rushed to the accident scene to assist the police to remove the dead and the injured trapped in the buses.

He said the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at the Suhum Government Hospital morgue for identification and preservation.

Mr Tetteh stated that police patrol teams from the Suhum and the Koforidua MTTD were also at the scene of the accident to control traffic.