Two people have died and four others sustained injuries following a head-on collision between a tipper truck and a Nigerian passenger bus at Abease on the Elubo-Takoradi Highway in the Western Region.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said the crash involved a Sinotruck (Howo) with registration number GS 3789-24 and a Nigerian passenger bus with registration number AAA 449 YN (Lagos).
According to the GNFS, a distress call was received at 11:53 a.m. on Friday, June 26, prompting the immediate deployment of a rescue team from the Half Assini Fire Station.
A five-member crew, led by Assistant Divisional Officer II (ADO II) Clement Arthur and accompanied by Assistant Divisional Officer I (ADO I) Issifu Dauda Kaku, arrived at the scene within six minutes to find five occupants of the passenger bus and one occupant of the tipper truck trapped in the wreckage.
The Service said bystanders had managed to rescue three of the victims before firefighters arrived.
The rescue team extricated the remaining casualties and transported four injured persons to the Elubo Government Hospital for medical treatment.
However, the driver of the Nigerian passenger bus was pronounced dead at the scene, while the mate of the tipper truck later died at the hospital. Their bodies have been deposited at the hospital morgue pending preservation and further investigations.
Preliminary investigations by the Fire Service indicate that the accident occurred after the bus driver allegedly swerved to avoid a pothole, veered into the opposite lane and collided head-on with the oncoming tipper truck.
Following the rescue operation, firefighters disconnected the vehicles’ battery terminals, cooled the overheated engine compartment to prevent a fire outbreak and cleared debris from the roadway to restore the free flow of traffic.
Authorities are expected to conduct further investigations into the fatal crash.
