Horrific: Over 80 perish in 2 road accidents

A national tragedy occurred Friday when at least 80 people lost their lives, with many others sustaining varying degrees of injury, in two separate gory accidents at Amoma Nkwanta in the Bono East Region and Ekumfi Dunkwa in the Central Region.

In the case of the first accident, about 60 people died, including two drivers, while 53 others were injured, when two buses collided at Amoma Nkwanta on the Techiman-Kintampo highway in the Kintampo South District at 1.40 a.m. Friday.

The two buses- an ANKAI VVIP bus, with registration number, GT 3916-17, and a KIA Grand Bird bus, with registration number GT 5694-18, were believed to be carrying about 60 passengers each, including children.

The VVIP bus, driven by Alexander Amoako, 54, was travelling from Accra to Bolgatanga, while the KIA Grand Bird bus was travelling from Garu to Kumasi.

Most of the passengers died on the spot, while a number of them, with serious injuries, were rushed to the Kintampo Government Hospital and the Techiman Holy Family Hospital for treatment.

Police say the KIA Grand Bird bus caught fire and got burnt after the collision and some of the passengers were burnt beyond recognition.

According to the police, some of the passengers were trapped either inside or under the two buses and personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service had to cut portions of the buses to retrieve them.

Charred bodies, belongings of the passengers and pieces of metal chopped off from the buses as a result of the severity of the collision were scattered around the accident scene, as many people trooped to the scene to witness the national tragedy.

MTTD

The Brong Ahafo Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Stella Sedame, told the Daily Graphic that the police had so far recorded 55 deaths and 53 injuries from the accident.

According to her, out of the 55 deaths, 35 died because they got burnt, while 13 out of the 53 injured passengers were in critical conditions.

Superintendent Sedame explained that while 40 of the injured were currently receiving treatment at nearby hospitals, the 13 whose conditions were critical had been referred to the Techiman Holy Family Hospital for further treatment.

Ekumfi Dunkwa

In the second accident, more than 30 people are believed to have died at Ekumfi Dunkwa on the Winneba-Cape Coast highway in the Central Region yesterday.

The accident involved a Yutong bus which was travelling from Takoradi to Accra and a Metro Mass Transit bus heading towards Cape Coast.

According to the Central Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Paul Manly Awini, the injured had been rushed to the Winneba Trauma Hospital and the Mankessim Catholic Hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at both hospitals for preservation.

Read also: Accident: More than 30 feared dead