Black Monday - Three accidents claim 26 lives

The bodies of the Tamale-Buipe highway accident have been deposited at the morgue of the Tamale Teaching Hospital where seven persons who sustained varied degrees of injury are also responding to treatment, report.

Two of the victims are currently on life support. The deceased included children and seven females.

About a year- old child who was picked-up from the accident scene to the hospital by a Good Samaritan has been placed under the care of the Social Welfare in Tamale. Her mother is suspected to be among the deceased.

A Kia Rhino truck (KS 8833-11), carrying  few passengers in addition to some goats and cows, veered off its lane and collided head on with a 207 Benz bus (AS 3981-12), which was packed to capacity with passengers.

The police together with personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) had difficulties removing the bodies, particularly, those in the Kia truck whose passenger side was badly damaged.

It took more than five hours before the police and officials of the Central Gonja District succeeded in securing a vehicle to convey the bodies of the dead to the morgue at the TTH.

When Graphic Online visited the accident scene, the remains of some of the animals were mixed up with the rubble, including some of the blood-soaked belongings of the passengers.

Among the items retreaved from the scene by the police were two trunks, which gave indications that some of the passengers of the bus were students.

The Northern Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Supt. Cashman Blewushie and the Police Commander for Buipe, DSP Owusu Antwi Kingsley were both on the scene to access the situation.

DSP Owusu Achiaw blamed the spate of accidents on the Tamale-Buipe stretch on speeding and explained that since portions of the road were reconstructed, drivers had been speeding anytime they were on the good portions of the road.

He expressed worry about the inability of the Buipe Police to check speeding because their only speed gun had broken down.

Story by Graphic reporters