The accident scene
Eight people died on the spot while seven others got seriously injured after a Benz Sprinter Mini Bus carrying 22 passengers from Kumasi to Accra collided with a flat body articulated truck at Boankra, near Kumasi yesterday.
The truck, loaded with floor tiles, was coming from the opposite direction when the accident occurred at about 4.30 am.
The bodies of the deceased, who were all in the sprinter bus, including the driver and his mate, had been conveyed to the Ejisu Government Hospital mortuary pending autopsy.
Seven passengers, who sustained life-threatening injuries, had been admitted at the same hospital.
The Ashanti Regional Commander of the Motor, Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Chief Supt Frank Aborakwa, told DAILY GUIDE that the driver of the Sprinter bus with registration number EC 5249-17 attempted to overtake another Sprinter Bus but lost control when it bumped into a speed ramp and collided with the oncoming truck with registration number ER 538 X.
He said the truck driver also lost control and crashed into a nearby house on the outskirts of Boankra.
The Ashanti Regional MMTD Commander, Chief Supt. Frank Abrokwa, said some people at the accident scene helped convey the injured people to the hospital for treatment.
It took rescuers, mainly local community members, more than an hour to get all the passengers out of the mangled bus.
An eyewitness, Abawa Ruth, who described the scene of the accident to DAILY GUIDE, stated that several body parts were strewn on the road immediately after the accident as residents rushed to the scene.
“It was really a mess here with body parts which were picked up one by one by the police,” she said.
“Some of the passengers were thrown out from the bus, while others were trapped with broken limbs and crushed heads.
According to her, some bodies were also taken to the morgue by the police who reportedly arrived at the scene around 5:30 am.
The Ejisu Police said officers were confronted by a scene of “complete carnage” when they arrived at the scene.
Three were died at the spot while five died shortly after being transported to the hospital.
The police corroborated the account of the witnesses, and added that families of some of the victims had been informed accordingly.
From Ernest Kofi Adu & I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr, Kumasi