23 killed within 24 hours in crashes

TWENTY THREE people have lost their lives and a lot more have sustained severe injuries in two separate accidents on the Offinso to Techiman road in just 24 hours period.

The death toll may go rise.

The first crash occurred when an articulated truck veered from its lane and collided with a Sprinter bus, registered GT 6075-15, from the Kumasi direction.

The gory accident, which occurred around 3am on Monday, resulted in seventeen deaths. The deceased persons included 14 females and 3 males.

The scary accident, according to a police report, happened on the outskirts of Offinso, specifically around the Abofuor Forest area, in the Ashanti Region on Monday dawn.

Before people in the area could overcome the shock of the first accident, a fresh crash also occurred on Tuesday dawn, around the Akomadan Forest, which is also close to Offinso.

In the latest accident, a Daewoo Grandbird KS bus, registered GT 4215-17, heading to Kumasi, refused to stop at a police snap check point, after being ordered to do so.

The speeding bus then rammed into a Kia Rhino Recovery truck, registered GB 6983-12, from Kumasi direction, which had stopped at the police checkpoint for checks.

The force of the impact pushed the truck into a nearby bush at the right side, whilst the bus also landed on the left side before it caught a ferocious inferno that burnt 6 to death on the spot.

“Twenty six victims struggled to come out of the bus with minor injuries and about 6 victims were trapped and burnt beyond recognition”, a police document disclosed.

Fire fighters rushed to the scene and doused the fire before rushing the injured and the dead to the hospital for treatment and the morgue for safe keeping, respectively.

Meanwhile, the police were still searching for the driver of the bus, who defied a police order to stop at the checkpoint, resulting in the crash that claimed six lives.