European, two others die in Kumasi-Techiman highway road crash

A man from Europe and two others were killed during an accident at Yeboah Apatem, near Akumadan, on the Kumasi-Techiman highway, Sunday.

The incident which occurred just before 8 pm has left others to battle for their lives at separate health facilities in the Ashanti and Bono Regions – after sustaining various injuries.

Emergency services were later called to rescue the perishing as the accident impeded traffic flow on the popular ECOWAS trunk road.

Official account

The accident involved a Mitsubishi Pajero car and a Ssanyong minibus, the police said in a statement obtained by DailyMailGh.com.

The statement said the Mitsubishi Pajero vehicle carried five persons including two Europeans who were later identified as Spanish nationals coming to Kumasi from Jirapa in the Upper West Region.

“On reaching the outskirts of Akumadan on the Kumasi-Techiman road, the [Mitsubishi Pajero] driver collided head-on with the Ssangyong bus with registration number AS 5628 –18 driven by Amponsah Paul aged 25 from the opposite direction”, the police said.

The impact caused the bus to burst into flames killing one person on the spot, according to an official with the National Disaster Management Organization in the Offinso North District, Mamoa Elijah.

“The Ssangyong car had burst into flames when we arrived. The other vehicle also somersaulted. A whiteman also got trapped. It took several hours before we could recover his body. He was declared dead at the scene”, the NADMO director narrated.

Death toll rises

The death toll had jumped to three after a 25-year-old man named as Kofi Boadu was also confirmed dead by medics at the Nkenkensu Government Hospital.

There are fears the death toll could rise as several others were referred to other medical facilities at Wenchi in the Bono Region.

Police in a statement later pointed to speeding as the initial cause of the accident.

“For now a joint investigations have started; remember this road connects Ghana to other ECOWAS countries but it is important we intensify education to prevent such carnages”, the NADMO director posited.