Photos from the scene of the accident
AT LEAST one person was killed and three others injured late Monday night when a fuel tanker burst into flames after a head-on collision with a tipper truck on the Accra–Tema Motorway.
Three occupants — Kwabena Agyapong, Joseph Teye Quarshie, and Aaron Kyei — were pulled from the wreckage and rushed to Tema General Hospital before firefighters arrived. The charred remains of a man believed to be the driver of the tipper truck, AS 466-19, were later recovered and handed to police for preservation and investigation.
The crash happened at about 11:49 p.m. on June 8 between Saka Saka Park and TaniNK Ghana, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) disclosed. Firefighters from the Tema Motorway Fire Station raced to the scene and found the fuel tanker, with registration AS 3555-24, fully engulfed in flames.
Reinforcements from Ashaiman and Tema Industrial Area stations, plus a water tanker from Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, joined the battle against the inferno.
After nearly two hours of intense firefighting, crews brought the blaze under control at 12:56 a.m. and fully extinguished it by 1:44 a.m. Officials said the coordinated response prevented the tanker from exploding — a disaster that could have levelled a wide stretch of the busy motorway.
The impact and fire left both vehicles gutted. All 26 tyres on the fuel tanker were burnt out, the front sections of both vehicles were crushed, and an unknown quantity of fuel was lost in the blaze.
Firefighters and police stayed on scene into Tuesday morning, cooling hotspots and clearing debris to restore traffic flow. The cause of the crash and fire remains under investigation.
“As a precautionary measure during fuel transfer operations at the Accra–Tema Motorway crash and fire scene, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed three firefighting crews. This deployment included the Ashaiman Fire Engine and a water tanker from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly to mitigate fire risks and safeguard both emergency personnel and road users,” stated DO II Desmond Ackah, Head of Public Relations for the GNFS.
The GNFS commended its personnel for their swift action, saying their “coordinated effort helped avert a potentially devastating explosion”.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke