16 die as two vehicles plunge into river Offin

Amoako (Ash), July 6, GNA - At least 16 people died on Sunday when a Mercedes 207 bus ran into a KIA Pride taxi on a bridge over River offin, dragging it along as both cars plunged into the river, police said.

There were at least seven survivors, including the two drivers, some of them on admission at the Saint Patrick Hospital at Offinso, Mr Kojo Appiagyei, Offinso Divisional Police Commander, told the Ghana News Agency.

Preliminary reports suggested that the bus developed a mechanical failure, leading to the accident which occurred at Amoako in the Afigya-Kwabre District of Ashanti.

Mr Appiagyei said the corpses, comprising 13 males and three females, had been deposited at the hospital morgue. They were retrieved by a joint team of the Ghana National Fire Service, National Disaster Management Organisation and the Police, assisted by the local people.

Three of the survivors -- Mr. Yaw Bannie, 42, Mr. Kofi Ntim Sarpong, 47 and Abena Achiaa, 15 -- all passengers on the bus, told the Ghana News Agency at the hospital that the vehicle's brakes failed when they got to Amoako.

Meanwhile, Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, Defence Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Afigya-Sekyere, Mr. Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister and Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Seth Oteng, have visited the scene.