78 passengers escape death in burning bus

ABOUT 78 PASSENGERS, including women and children escaped death by the skin of the teeth when a Metro Mass transit (MTT) bus they were traveling on suddenly caught fire in Kumasi.

The passengers, according to reports, were going to Agya Prayer Camp, a popular prayer center at Ejisu-Adadientem, said to belong to the Church of Pentecost, on Monday around 6:45PM when the disaster struck.

The moving bus, with registration number, GS 3611-Z reportedly, suddenly caught fire when it reached the Tech Police Station area, sparking fear among the passengers, who then called for assistance.

The driver of the bus, Maxwell Akrofi, eye witnesses said, did his utmost best to stop the bus.

The driver explained what actually happened: “I smelled an unusual scent from the engine so I stopped the bus and ordered all the passengers to get down then I removed the battery from the engine hoping that it would foil any electrical mishaps.

“But a few minutes after I removed the battery, I realized sparks of torches beneath the engine then the blaze intensified and razed down the bus while the passengers stood helpless,” the driver, Maxwell Akrofi told Akoma FM.

Eye witness reports indicated that some of the passengers even had to break glasses on the bus and jump from the window in order to save their lives.

Fire fighters, who were called to help, then rushed to the disaster scene and they did their best to quench the blaze only after the bus had been totally burnt.

All 78 passengers escaped unhurt.

When the paper reached the scene, the MMT bus had been burnt beyond repairs as some of the passengers were seen ruing over their burnt bags and other items.

Meanwhile, personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the Ashanti Region have started investigations to help unravel what was the exact cause of the inferno.