Sixteen persons were feared dead in an accident that occurred at Gomoa Okyereko in the Central Region involving a petrol tanker and a Yutong bus.
The accident occurred at about 5am yesterday after a head-on collision between the two vehicles.
The fuel tanker was heading towards Takoradi while the Yutong bus, which had passengers onboard, mostly Liberians, was heading towards Buduburam.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the driver of the fuel tanker with registration number WR 2063-10 was sleeping while driving and missed his lane in the process.
The tanker subsequently had a head-on collision with the bus, which was moving in the opposite direction.
“We saw the tanker driver sleeping while driving around 5am this morning. We tried to stop him because he was heading towards a danger zone but he did not notice us.
“The driver missed his lane along the way and had a head-on collision with the bus. We have so far removed 16 passengers who are already dead. One person is currently trapped in the vehicle and fire officers are cutting through to remove him as well but he is already dead too,” a taxi cab driver narrated.
He alleged that 25 other passengers were battling for their lives at various hospitals after sustaining severe injuries.
“But information we gathered indicates that the passengers on board the bus were mainly Liberians,” he added.
He bemoaned the fact that, that stretch has been described as a hotspot for road accidents over the years.
The Winneba Fire Service Commander, DO II Kwesi Hughes, told journalists that he was told that the Yutong bus driver occasionally veered off his lane all through the trip.
“So tanker driver rather came into the lane of the Yutong bus and collided head on with the bus.
“The impact was great on the passenger sides of both vehicles, a situation which got the tanker driver mashed,” DO II Hughes disclosed.
The Fire Service Commander explained that “other passengers on the passenger side of the Yutong bus were also dismembered”.
“We have been able to rescue some people who were severely injured and we have sent them to the Trauma and Specialist Hospital. The rest have been sent to a municipal hospital nearby,” he added.
He said because of the accident, the road was temporary blocked to traffic as security agencies on-site worked around the clock to restore normalcy.
“We were able to tow the two vehicles to a safe place before we were able to open the traffic,” he added.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi