Eight vehicles burnt in Kumasi
Eight vehicles were burnt, two of them beyond repairs, when a Renault tanker with a Malian number plate, AE 3208 MD, caught fire in an accident at the Suame Roundabout in Kumasi.
Two Opel Astra taxi cabs, two mini Urvan buses, a Toyota Land Cruiser and one unregistered KIA truck meant for sale got damaged in the incident.
The accident occurred about 5.30 a.m. when a Burkina Faso-bound trailer, with registration number 11 HM 1526 and loaded with iron rods, reversed in the process of climbing the hilly section of the roundabout.
The iron rods on the trailer then pierced the tanker which was right behind it, causing the fuel in the tanker to gush out.
The fuel then caught fire which spread to other areas and affected other vehicles, billboards, two electric poles, decorations and a third of the grass at the roundabout.
The fire also caused serious damage to about 80 metres of the asphalted road.
Fortunately, there was no casualty.
A second tanker loaded with diesel had only its head burnt beyond recognition, with its content intact because the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) was able to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the tanker.
It took personnel from the GNFS stations at Magazine, Kumasi Metro and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) over one hour to bring the fire under control.
The incident resulted in massive vehicular traffic at the Suame Roundabout for close to five hours, a situation which compelled most passengers to resort to walking from the roundabout to the central business district of Kumasi.
The Deputy Ashanti Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Charles Ahiamale, said the police had been able to apprehend the driver of the trailer who ran away after causing the accident.
Mr Ahiamale gave the driver’s name as Compaore Adama, 29, and said he was currently in police custody assisting in investigations.
He said the police had asked Goil Ghana Limited to send another tanker to carry away the diesel from the damaged tanker to enable personnel from the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) to clear the damaged tanker from the road.
After the fire had been completely put out, personnel from the GNFS and the NRSC were seen busily trying to clear the road of the damaged vehicles to allow for the free flow of traffic that had been at a standstill for close to five hours.
To prevent another fire outbreak during the transfer of the diesel from the damaged tanker, firemen loaded their fire engines with compact foam to douse any fire that might start.
The usually busy roundabout attracted a large number of onlookers who converged on the place to witness what happened.