Fish Truck Crushes 10

More than 10 people were feared dead in a motor accident at Abeka Lapaz in Accra yesterday when a truck trailer carrying cartons of fish fell on a Hyundai Grace bus and a cab.

There was only one survivor- a man.

At least four persons whose lower parts were trapped beneath the truck cried for help but due to the weight of the vehicle, the crowd could only look on helplessly as three of them died slowly.

Earlier in the day, three kids had suffocated and died when they were allegedly trapped in a parked car at Nii Boi Town within the Abeka Lapaz vicinity.

With regard to the Lapaz accident, only one out of the four people survived while other passengers in the bus died instantly as they were totally trapped beneath the van.

An eyewitness told DAILY GUIDE that at about 7pm, a Sprinter Benz bus with registration number GC 8303-11 was speeding from the Kwashieman end of the George Walker Bush Motorway.

The driver failed to heed the warning to slow down probably because the traffic light was off due to a power outage since morning.

The bus hit the back of the refrigerator truck which, in turn, hit the pavement and fell on its side, onto a taxi and the Hyundai Grace trotro which was fully loaded with passengers.

It took about 30 minutes before officials from the Fire Service came with a Mahindra vehicle number FS 427 and some equipment to tow the truck but they soon realized that the task was heavier than the vehicle they brought.

They had to call for some two private towing vehicles which tried for over two hours, but could not pull the trailer from the two vehicles beneath it.

Sympathizers had to off-load the cartons of fish which soon became a bonanza for some bystanders. Some people were arrested for stealing the fish.

While some were inside the van busily helping to reduce the weight of the trailer truck, others were carting the fish home, with the few policemen present trying to intervene, albeit unsuccessfully.

The arrival of a third towing van from the Road Safety Management Services Limited, launched last week by Vice President John Mahama, brought some hope to the people as the thousands chanted “yeah, this is the car that can do it”.

At least four people had their heads as well as their trunks at one side of the van while their legs were trapped beneath the van.

One survivor was heard screaming agonizingly “please help me, please help me.”

At about 9:40 pm when the trailer truck was finally pulled off the trapped passengers, the man who held on to hope and called for help survived.

Curious residents and the crowd who had various pieces of clothes around were for the over two hours fanning him until he was finally pulled out.

So great was the crowd that some of them had to climb into the buckets of the three towing vehicles to catch a glimpse of the deceased. That made the work of the police and other rescuers rather dangerous and difficult.

Within minutes, the crowd grew so thick as though there was a political rally going on at the location, causing heavy vehicular traffic.

As at 10pm when DAILY GUIDE was leaving the scene, the truck was still in the middle of the road.

The driver who tried to run away as recently happened in a similar accident at Santasi in Kumasi, was arrested and sent to the police station, DAILY GUIDE gathered.

The dead were carried into the bucket of a pick-up vehicle to the police hospital morgue.

The only survivor was however put in a waiting ambulance.

Miscreants also took advantage of the situation to make some money as they took to pick-pocketing and even snatched people’s items.

A DAILY GUIDE photographer’s camera was nearly snatched as a group of young guys tried to heckle him.

Later, a reinforcement team from the Police Headquarters arrived to help control the crowd and traffic.

Three children were suspected to have suffocated to death yesterday in a car in which they were playing at Nii Boi Town near Lapaz where the accident occurred last night.

At least two of the kids have been confirmed as siblings and the other a relative.

An eyewitness said the kids were for sometime not seen around so their mothers became worried and searched for them.

It was during the search that their parents found them in a parked car within the locality called Container with their mouths foaming.

Residents are not ruling out foul play as they suspected the kids were poisoned.

Unconfirmed reports said the bodies of the three children aged between two to four years had been conveyed to the Police Hospital morgue for autopsy.