Highway slaughter in Kumasi, as 35 perish in motor accident

IN what could best pass as a national tragedy, thirty-four souls perished last Monday night in the worst accident in the Ashanti Region in recent times when an Inter City STC Bus collided head-on with a Mercedez 207 passenger bus at the Akropong Junction on the Kumasi-Sunyani road.
It was a Black Monday night for the Catholic Church in general and the Abuakwa Parish in particular as all but three of the dead, were members of the Parish.
The church members most of whom were choristers were on their way to attend the funeral of their deceased Reverend Father of the Parish at Akwaboa, some five kilometers away when they met their tragic death.
The remaining three included the drivers of the two vehicles, and an officer of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) who was on board the STC bus.
This morning, the scene at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where the bodies were sent, was shocking and pathetic.
Relatives, church members and friends tried to identify the bodies of their departed ones as the bodies were lined up at the mortuary.
Some of the bodies were badly mutilated, and the scene sent people wailing uncontrollably.
The Accra-bound Inter-City STC bus with registration number … was said to be traveling from Burkina Faso.
The Akropong junction accident was a near carbon copy of what took place at Santasi last year when 17 members of the Deeper Life Bible Ministry on board a similar 207 bus returning from a funeral lost their lives.
Monday’s accident was said to have occurred a few minutes after 10pm when the driver of the 207 bus, attempted to overtake a Tico taxicab.
Eyewitnesses said the 207 driver lost control and went into a head-on collision with the oncoming Inter-City STC bus.
The STC bus dragged the 207 bus along for some distance killing all on board.
Some of the church members told the Graphic that the Abuakwa Parish of the Catholic Church selected the choir members from various societies within the Parish and that the vehicle moved from society to society to pick them for the wake-keeping.
Police sources said they suspected the 207 bus was overloaded.
Fire Service personnel who responded quickly to the accident spent the whole night trying to cut through the wreckage to remove both the dead and injured persons.
The driver of the STC bus for instance was found dead with the head handing downwards in the bus when the bus was cut open, according to eyewitnesses.
The number of injured persons who were rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) could not readily be ascertained as hospital staff were busy trying to save lives.
The badly mutilated bodies of the deceased, 17 males and 17 females have since been deposited at KATH morgue for autopsy.
Those identified included the driver of the 207 bus, Kwame Acheampong.
Others were Georgina Tiwaa, John Baptish Amosi, Kwadwo Asiedu, Vice Chairman of the Tanoso Union Choir, Cecilia Nyamekye from Tanoso, Eric Boakye, Lawrence Addai Munumkum, a catechist of the Abuakwa Parish, Sister Agyeiwaa, Mary Mensah from Apatrapa, John Mensah, Sepaase Choir master, Sister Alice and Bernard Mensah.
When the Graphic visited the KATH morgue this morning (Tuesday), it was a horrific scene as a large crowd had besieged the morgue’s premises trying to help identify the deceased.
The Member of Parliament for Atwima Nwabiagya, Mr Benito Bioh within whose constituency the accident occurred was at the morgue to show concern for the lost souls and the bereaved families.
The Police were yet to officially comment on the accident.

ANOTHER fatal accident in the Ashanti Region, Ghana

ANOTHER fatal accident in the Ashanti Region within two weeks, once again involving 207 Mercedes Benz passenger buses, has claimed fourteen lives on the spot at Kwadwo Kwapia on the Obuasi - Dunkwa-on-Offin.Eighteen others received various degrees of injuries some very serious.Both the dead and the injured were sent to the Government Hospital at Dunkwa-On-Offin.The accident occurred last Friday when both vehicles were said to be speeding on the road. The accident came at a time accidents involving Mercedez 207 buses had become a source of concern to both the police and other concerned groups and individuals.Just around Easter 14 people were killed at Dadieso on the Accra-Kumasi road, apart from other minor accidents.Police report on the Kwadwo Kwapia accident was not detailed enough.However, eyewitnesses said one of the vehicles, which was bound for Tarkwa tried to overtake another resulting in the head-on collision.According to the eyewitnesses, people within the area of the accident constituted themselves into rescue teams to help remove the dead and injured from the wreckage before sending them to Dunkwa.Among the dead were the drivers of both vehicles.Police named the deceased drivers as Kwasi Owusu and Emmanuel Teye.The identities of the 12 others who were killed in the accident as well as the injured were not immediately known.Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) James Sarfo-Peprah, the Commanding Officer of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police, who briefed the Daily Graphic today said Owusu was driving the vehicle with registration number AS 5731 W, from Kumasi to Tarkwa while Teye was using the bus with registration number AS 3508 W from Tarkwa to Kumasi.On reaching a section of the road near Kwadwo Kwapia the two vehicles collided killing the 14 on the spot.

NIGHT life in Kumasi is dying

SOMETHING is happening in Kumasi before the eyes of all residents, and which is a huge eyesore but very few people seem to talk about it.
It looks like nobody not even the city authorities care about the malfunctioning of streets lights in the metropolis as virtual darkness engulf the streets in the night.
Clearly one of the factors that go into making life in a community especially in the city interesting and worth living is the availability of electric power on the streets.
Street lighting goes to bring life to the community and check crime among other benefits .
Without power many activities cannot go on effectively and the residents and visitors would be the eventual losers.
Quite disturbingly Kumasi is gradually being driven into this situation and the big question is why the authorities look on unconcerned as the situation worsens day after day.
Just take a drive in the city in the night and you will realize the sort of mess that Kumasi finds itself.
The first time visitor to the Garden City in the night would definitely be dumbfounded.
I recently overhead two gentlemen discussing the way night life in Kumasi gad gone dead.
They alluded the situation to a number of reasons including armed robbery and poor lighting system on the streets among others.