9 Soccer Fans Die in Accident

A bus transporting soccer fans to a game collided Sunday with a timber truck in southern Ghana, killing nine people, witnesses and hospital officials said.

The 33-seater bus was headed to Kumasi, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of the capital, for a game between top teams Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak.

Witnesses said the bus was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it crashed into the oncoming truck at Ejisu, just 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Kumasi.

"In a minute, what's left was mangled bodies in a pool of blood. It's an awful sight," said Freddie Nutsugah, who was visiting a vendor by the side of the road when the crash happened.

The roof of the bus was ripped off, and the front section of the truck was disengaged, he said.

The dead were all riding in the bus and were Accra Hearts of Oak supporters, officials at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi said.

Five other soccer fans were seriously injured in the crash and receiving treatment at the hospital, they said.