North East Region: Major bridge collapse, passengers stranded at Tinguri

Correspondence from North East Region

Road users including students traveling on the Nalerigu-Walewale stretch were left stranded after a heavy downpour that lasted over five hours following the collapse of a bridge in Tinguri-Gbani in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region.

The rain which started in the early hours of Wednesday, August 9, 2023, affected several communities in the West Mamprusi and East Mamprusi Municipalities.

The dam in Tinguri-Gbani spilled over during the downpour contributing to the pressure of the water which washed away the road making the bridge to sink.

On August 10, 2023, what the residents could do to get the passengers across to any side of the road was to carry them, thus, charging an individual an amount of GhC5 to GhC10 due to the pressure of the water.

Some students who were stranded and scared of crossing the stream are calling on the government to put immediate measures to get the bridge fixed.

One of the students, Pricilla Atanga said, "Actually, I feel scared of seeing how the place is. It is very dangerous, like, we don't know what might happen at the end of it. We are appealing to those who can fix the bridge to fix it so that when we are coming back, we can use it”.

Another student, Muniru Azizu also said he has never experienced such a situation hence, he was very scared.

"I have not experienced this. I am very scared. The traders and those that are traveling, they don't know what to do. So, if there is any support, the government should hurry up and do it because we are very scared and we don't know what will happen to us when we are crossing the stream", he said.

Both sides of the road were piled up by travelers as they could not cross to the other side of the road to get to their destination.