Nineteen people perish in road accident at Kone-Kablu

Battor (V/R), Aug. 16, GNA - Fifteen people died on the spot and four others at the Battor Catholic Hospital in a fatal accident, involving a Metro Mass Transit (MMT) bus and a Togolese articulated truck on the Ada-Tema Highway.

The bodies of the dead, made up of 10 men, eight women and a little girl, had been deposited at the Battor Catholic Hospital Mortuary, while 55 other passengers, who received various injuries were on admission at the hospital.

An eye-witness account said the MMT bus with registration number AS 6059-10, travelling from Mepe to Accra ran into the stationary truck with number TG 6907 AH, which was parked by the side of the road.

Mr Donatus Duncun Adalete, Administrator of the hospital, briefing Mr Mike Hammah, Minister of Transport, who visited the victims at the hospital said, the accident occurred at about 0400 hours on Monday.

He said it occurred at Kone-Kablu, a town between Mepe and Sege in the North Tongu District in the Volta Region.

Mr Adalete said most of the victims were returning from the Afenoto festival, celebrated over the weekend, by the chiefs and people of the Mepe Traditional Area.

Mr Hammah appealed to Ghanaians to make road safety a passion and take precautions, such as the use of seat belts, crash helmets and vehicle maintenance to reduce road accidents and urged passengers to caution drivers from speeding.

He said available statistics indicated that it cost the country about 1.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), over 230 million dollars annually, in addition to loss of lives.

Mr Hammah presented GH¢10,000 cash to the management of the hospital to settle the bills of the surviving victims and promised government support.