Two people have been confirmed dead following a plane crash at the TMA Daycare in Tema Community One, Site 18 yesterday.
The two passengers were burnt beyond recognition and have been identified following the crash.
Independent checks have confirmed that the aircraft is a previously restored two-seater plane and not a helicopter, as speculated.
A statement issued by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) confirmed the incident indicating that the aircraft, with registration number 9G-ADV, was enroute to Accra from Ho when it went down at Tema.
“The aircraft was flying from Ho to Accra, estimating Accra at 15:20 Z . The last contact with the aircraft on radio was 14:18 Z. There were two persons on board,” the statement read.
Emergency responders and residents surrounded the scene as authorities begun investigations and assisted with the evacuation of teachers and students in the area.
Speaking with journalists, Tema Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Divisional Officer II, Ebenezer Yenzu, stated that fire service personnel were informed of the incident at approximately 12:59pm by some eyewitness at the scene.
“We received a call around 12:59pm that there was an outbreak of fire at Community 1, Site 18. And so as we rushed to the scene, we got into the TMA Daycare and realised that there was a blazing fire involving a chopper that had fallen just close to the wall of the pre-school,” Mr Yenzu explained.
But, by the time we got here, the teachers and the pupils had just evacuated the school and were just on the street, and so none of the students or the pupils or the teachers got injured,” he confirmed.
Mr. Yenzu also mentioned that they were assisted by officers from the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority in dousing the fire.
“When we finished dousing the flame, we realised that it’s a chopper which had two persons on board, two persons on board, all males, and we have been able to retrieve the bodies and sent them to the morgue through the police for preservation and autopsy,” he stated.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke