Six passengers onboard a Hyundai Grace commercial vehicle are feared dead in an accident that occurred at Gomoa Osamkrom on the Agona Swedru-Winneba main road Tuesday afternoon.
The accident involved a Hyundai Grace with registration number GT 4110-13 which was loaded with many passengers and was heading towards Winneba.
The other accident vehicle is a DAF tanker truck with registration number GT 7728-16 which was heading towards a gas filling station at Agona Swedru to offload gas.
According to information gathered by Graphic Online’s Glibert Mawuli Agbey, another vehicle did an overtaking but had to slow down abruptly in front of the tanker truck.
In an attempt to avoid running into the vehicle which had slowed down abruptly ahead of it, the tanker driver applied his brakes whilst descending a slippery slope towards the Osamkrom township.
In the process, the tanker skidded off the road and hit the Hyundai which veered off the road into a nearby bush.
Officials of the Swedru Municipal Fire Service and the personnel from the Swedru Divisional unit of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service rushed to the scene to maintain law and order.
Six passengers onboard both vehicles including the drivers and their mates who were severely injured were rescued and taken to the Swedru Government Hospital for emergency medical attention.
However, some passengers who are yet to be identified were trapped in the Hyundai vehicle.
For more than six hours, attempts were still underway by the security personnel to rescue them.
Some eyewitnesses said they saw about six people trapped in the Hyundai vehicle which was under the tanker.
Confirmation
Confirming the incident to Graphic Online, the station Officer at the Swedru Divisional MTTD, Chief Inspector Sampson Boamah said that the rescue team would only be able to retrieve the dead bodies if the LPG gas is discharged from the tanker.
He noted that the situation at the scene of the accident was being attended to with a lot of caution since any little mistake could lead to an explosion which may have devastating effects on the adjoining communities.
He noted that a recovery truck is in the process of trying to remove the container so that the bodies of the passengers trapped to death could be deposited at the morgue for autopsy.
He noted that members of the Osamkrom community who are very close to the accident have been sensitized to avoid flammable items close to the scene that could lead to the explosion of the tanker.
Meanwhile, the Swedru-Winneba main road has been blocked to traffic as commuters and drivers would have to use alternative routes to get to their respective destinations.
