Two of the mangled vehicles
Five persons sustained various degrees of injuries when three vehicles, including a fuel tanker carrying 54,000 litres of diesel, were involved in an accident at Konongo Lady Diana in the Ashanti Region last Saturday.
The vehicles involved were a MAN diesel tanker with registration number GN 4470-22, a DAF XF truck with registration number GN 1591-20, and a Toyota Matiz taxi with registration number SE 6425-14.
Personnel from the Konongo Fire Station of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), led by Leading Fireman (LFM) Siale Richard, responded swiftly to a distress call received at about 3:36 p.m.
The rescue team arrived at the scene 12 minutes later and immediately commenced rescue operations, which were completed at about 4:10 p.m.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the three vehicles collided under circumstances yet to be established. Fortunately, no deaths were recorded.
The accident left all three vehicles badly damaged. The front section of the diesel tanker was extensively damaged, while the DAF truck sustained damage on its offside. The Toyota Matiz taxi was completely wrecked.
According to the GNFS, the injured victims comprised three males and two females. Four of them had already been rescued and transported to Steward Hospital before the arrival of the fire crew.
The remaining victim was rescued by firefighters and conveyed to the same hospital in a police pickup vehicle with registration number GP 671.
In a major relief, firefighters successfully salvaged all 54,000 litres of diesel from the tanker and deployed foam concentrate to prevent a possible fire outbreak and environmental contamination.
The intervention averted what could have been a major disaster along the busy stretch.
The Ghana National Fire Service commended personnel of the Konongo Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) for assisting to secure the accident scene and ensure the smooth flow of traffic during the rescue operation.
The fire crew later returned to the station at about 6:01 p.m. after successfully bringing the situation under control.
FROM David Afum, Konongo