Image copyright Anas Sabit-Kaskiya Image caption The two buses collided during the early hours of Friday morning

At least 50 people have died and others were injured after two buses collided in central Ghana.

The crash happened in Kitampo town, 430 km (270 miles) north of the capital Accra, at 0200 GMT on Friday morning, police say.

Emergency services are at the scene rescuing passengers still trapped inside the two vehicles.

Each bus had about 50 passengers on board. One of the vehicles caught fire after the collision.

Image copyright Anas Sabit-Kaskiya Image caption Images from the scene show the burnt out vehicles on the highway in Bono East province

"Most of the passengers in both vehicles died at the spot. A number of them with varying degrees of injuries have been rushed to hospital," a police spokesperson said.

Road accidents are common in Ghana. An average of six people die every day on Ghana's roads.</s>General News of Friday, 22 March 2019

Source: Mynewsgh.com

More than 70 passengers dead in Tamale-Kintampo accident

More than 70 passengers on board two buses that collided head-on in the early hours of Friday March 22, 2019 on the Tamale-Kintampo Highway have died instantly, MyNewsGh.com can confirm.



The accident occurred at Amoma Nkwanta, a village near Kintampo in the Kintampo North Municipality of the Bono East Region, along the main Kintampo-Tamale Highway.



It is has been confirmed that a VVIP Kia bus with registration number GT 3915- 17 from Garu in the Upper East Region heading towards Kumasi collided with a Grandbird bus with registration number GT 5694-18 from Accra which was heading towards Bolgantaga also in the Upper East Region.



It is unclear what might have caused the collision but it is speculated that one of the drivers might have been dozing off and run into the lane of the other from the opposite direction.



All passengers, including those onboard one of the buses which was en route from Garu and bound for Kumasi have been burnt beyond recognition when the vehicle went up in flames soon after the crash



The other bus, branded VVIP and painted red, veered into a ditch after the collision, killing dozens on board.





As at the time of filing this story, the exact number of dead passengers had not been established, but MyNewsGh.com can report that only a handful survived the carnage.



There was wailing by onlookers and passersby as the police and fire service were salvaging what was left of the wreck and rescue the survivors.



Kintampo Municipal Fire Commander (DO3) Mr. Ankomah Twene who confirmed the unfortunate incident to MyNewsGh.com, said it took his men close to 30 minutes to douse the fire on the other bus before they could cut and take out the dead bodies.



The survivors have been transported to the Jema Government Hospital, Kintampo Government Hospital and the Holy Family Hospital for medical attention.







</s>Nearly 60 people were killed and several injured after two buses collided in central Ghana on Friday, CNN reported. The accident took place in Kintampo town, about 430 km from capital Accra.

Each bus had around 50 passengers. “Most of the passengers in both vehicles died at the spot,” said a police spokesperson, according to BBC. “A number of them with varying degrees of injuries have been rushed to hospital.”

Police Commander Joseph Antwi Gyawu told AFP that the two buses were going in different directions when the collision took place. One of the vehicles caught fire after the accident.

Emergency services are still rescuing people trapped inside the two vehicles. Injured passengers have been sent to the Techiman Holy Family Hospital and Kintampo Government Hospital for treatment. A doctor at the Kintampo Government Hospital said 28 people were being treated for injuries.

In 2016, about 61 people died when a passenger bus collided with a cargo truck near Kintampo.</s>At least 60 people have been killed in a head-on collision between two buses in southern Ghana, police said.

The crash happened on Friday at about 2:00 am (0200 GMT) in the Bono East region, some 430km by road north of the capital, Accra.

"The vehicles were travelling in separate directions when the collision occurred," police commander Joseph Antwi Gyawu told AFP news agency.

"At least 60 people have been confirmed dead and one of the buses caught fire with the other seriously mangled," he added.

Each bus was carrying about 50 passengers at the time of the crash.

Emergency services were at the scene, including firefighters to put out the blazing vehicles.

Kwame Arhin, a doctor at the Kintampo Government Hospital, said 28 people were being treated for injuries.

"Seven out of the 28 passengers who were rushed here are in critical condition," Arhin told AFP news agency.

"We have referred four. Most of them had head injuries. I've seen a few being taken to the morgue," he added.</s>THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The brand new electric buses could end up being a liability to Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). With one of the buses now in the garage following a crash in Cherthala the other day, only nine buses are on the road now. Plans for increasing the number of buses are also in the works.

Primarily, the running cost of these buses is too much. To top that, the collection is comparatively low when it comes to electric buses. On most days, they reach Thiruvananthapuram barely filled or even empty. M P Dinesh, CMD, KSRTC, said it is not unique to electric buses alone.

“The number of commuters is low on all services this season. This applies to the electric buses also. There are days when the collection goes as high as `24,000 and even much lower. The government has announced more buses which will hopefully come through. It is mainly a policy decision more than a question of loss or gain.

The main gain is there will be less pollution. However, as of now, we are not intimated about more services. As of the maintenance cost, since they are leased buses, KSRTC does not have to bother about it. There is also a Central Government subsidy of up to `50 lakh for electric buses and many other aids for this environment-friendly service,” said Dinesh.

However, not all are content with this environment-friendly gesture. This concern can be considered valid given the service is run by the corporation which struggles to make ends meet at the end of every month. “ If the bus gets caught in a traffic block, the charge will be lost and the chances of the bus being stranded on the way increases. One charging station costs around `26 lakh and as of now we only have three functioning charging stations. Transformers are necessary to set up the charging stations and the current stations were made where the transformers were nearby. If we need new charging points, new transformers will have to be bought by paying KSEB,” said M G Rahul, general-secretary of AITUC-affiliated Kerala State Transport Employees’ Union.

The buses are stopped when the charge reaches 20 per cent and it will take up to three hours for the bus to be fully charged again. This plays a role in making passengers hesitant to travel in electric buses.

 The budget promise to change all the services in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to electric buses, thus making it the first city in the country to have e buses might just have to wait.</s>At least 50 people have died and others were injured after two buses collided in central Ghana.

The crash happened in Kitampo town, 430 km (270 miles) north of the capital Accra, at 0200 GMT on Friday morning, police say.

Emergency services are at the scene rescuing passengers still trapped inside the two vehicles.

Each bus had about 50 passengers on board. One of the vehicles caught fire after the collision.

"Most of the passengers in both vehicles died at the spot. A number of them with varying degrees of injuries have been rushed to hospital," a police spokesperson said.

Road accidents are common in Ghana. An average of six people die every day on Ghana's roads.</s>At least 60 people were killed in a head-on collision between two buses in Ghana today after one of the drivers reportedly 'fell asleep' at the wheel.

A further 28 passengers were taken to hospital, with seven in a critical condition, after the crash in the Bono East region at around 2am.

Each bus was carrying around 50 passengers at the time of the crash. One of the buses caught fire, leaving people burned beyond recognition.

Kwame Arhin, a doctor at the Kintampo Government Hospital, said 28 people were being treated for head injuries and multiple fractures.

The cause of the crash was yet to be established but local media said a driver of one of the vehicles lost control after falling asleep.

'Some of the survivors are telling us that their driver was feeling sleepy at some point during that time of the night so he was asked to park but he refused,' Kintampo fire service commander Ankomah Twene told local station TV3.

'We believe it contributed to the accident,' he added.

Emergency services were at the scene, including firefighters who put out the blazing vehicles.

Video footage of the crash site indicated that one of the buses was completely gutted. The road was strewn with debris over several hundred yards.

Bags and belongings of passengers from the second bus were in piles on the roadside.

The side of the vehicle, which was at an angle into the embankment, appeared ripped off.

A survivor, Rose Anane, said: 'I was fast asleep then I heard a loud bang. We managed to break the glass and it was just a few of us - about 10 - who managed to move out.

'In a matter of seconds then the vehicle went on fire with the others still trapped in the car. We watched on as the fire consumed them. It was late into the night.'

Ghana's Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said action was required to prevent such accidents.

'As a country we need to put in place appropriate measures to drastically reduce the occurrence of such mishaps,' he wrote on his Twitter account.

'We wish the injured speedy recovery and may the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.'

The crash has renewed calls for the authorities to enforce traffic rules to reduce deaths and injuries on the country's poorly-maintained road networks.

'We've been speaking to the local assembly to fix rumble strips on the road but they said this is a highway so it's not possible,' said local resident Gifty Mintah. Rumble strips are a noise-making safety feature that alerts drivers when their cars are at the edge of the road.

'But people keep dying and for how long are we going to look on for people to keep dying?'

Crashes are common on highways in Ghana because of poor maintenance, disregard of traffic regulations and unroadworthy vehicles.

An average of six people die on the roads every day, according to the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of Ghana police.

In February 2016, 70 people were killed and 13 injured when two buses collided in the same town of Kintampo.

In July 2017, players from one of Ghana's leading football clubs, Asante Kotoko, were victims of a crash in which their team bus rammed into the back of a stationary truck.</s>No fewer than 60 people died in a head-on collision between two passenger buses on a highway in Ghana on Friday, emergency workers said on Friday.

Kintampo Municipal Fire Commander, Ankomah Twene said the incident occurred in Ampoma town in Ghana’s Bono East Region, NAN reports

“It took the fire service about 30 minutes to put out the fire that engulfed the vehicles as a result of the collision,’’ he added.

According to Twene, some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, adding that several survivors of the crash have been transported to nearby hospitals.

The cause of the crash was not yet known as at press time.

Serious road accidents are recurrent in Ghana, as well as other African countries, often due to high speed, technical problems with vehicles and poor road conditions.</s>At least 60 people were killed in a head-on collision between two buses in Ghana today after one of the drivers reportedly 'fell asleep' at the wheel.

A further 28 passengers were taken to hospital, with seven in a critical condition, after the crash in the Bono East region at around 2am.

Each bus was carrying around 50 passengers at the time of the crash. One of the buses caught fire, leaving people burned beyond recognition.

Kwame Arhin, a doctor at the Kintampo Government Hospital, said 28 people were being treated for head injuries and multiple fractures.

The cause of the crash was yet to be established but local media said a driver of one of the vehicles lost control after falling asleep.

'Some of the survivors are telling us that their driver was feeling sleepy at some point during that time of the night so he was asked to park but he refused,' Kintampo fire service commander Ankomah Twene told local station TV3.

'We believe it contributed to the accident,' he added.

Emergency services were at the scene, including firefighters who put out the blazing vehicles.

A survivor, Rose Anane, said: 'I was fast asleep then I heard a loud bang. We managed to break the glass and it was just a few of us - about 10 - who managed to move out.

'In a matter of seconds then the vehicle went on fire with the others still trapped in the car. We watched on as the fire consumed them. It was late into the night.'

The crash has renewed calls for the authorities to enforce traffic rules to reduce deaths and injuries on the country's poorly-maintained road networks.

'We've been speaking to the local assembly to fix rumble strips on the road but they said this is a highway so it's not possible,' said local resident Gifty Mintah. Rumble strips are a noise-making safety feature that alerts drivers when their cars are at the edge of the road.

'But people keep dying and for how long are we going to look on for people to keep dying?'

Crashes are common on highways in Ghana because of poor maintenance, disregard of traffic regulations and unroadworthy vehicles.

An average of six people die on the roads every day, according to the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of Ghana police.

In February 2016, 70 people were killed and 13 injured when two buses collided in the same town of Kintampo.

In July 2017, players from one of Ghana's leading football clubs, Asante Kotoko, were victims of a crash in which their team bus rammed into the back of a stationary truck.</s>At least 60 people have been killed in a head-on collision between two buses in Ghana, police have said.

The incident – the latest deadly crash on Ghana’s roads – happened on Friday at about 2am local time in the Bono East region, about 270 miles (430km) north of the capital, Accra.

The police commander, Joseph Antwi Gyawu, said: “The vehicles were travelling in separate directions when the collision occurred.

“At least 60 people have been confirmed dead and one of the buses caught fire, with the other seriously mangled.”

The buses were each carrying about 50 passengers at the time of the crash. Emergency services were at the scene, including firefighters who put out the blazing vehicles.

Kwame Arhin, a doctor at Kintampo hospital, said 28 people were being treated for head injuries and multiple fractures. “Seven out of the 28 passengers who were rushed here are in critical condition,” he said.

The cause of the crash is still to be established but local media said a driver of one of the vehicles lost control after falling asleep.

Speaking to the local TV station TV3, Kintampo’s fire service commander, Ankomah Twene, said: “Some of the survivors are telling us that their driver was feeling sleepy at some point during that time of the night, so he was asked to park, but he refused. We believe it contributed to the accident.”

Rose Anane, who was on one of the buses, said: “I was fast asleep then I heard a loud bang. We managed to break the glass and it was just a few of us – about 10 – who managed to move out.

“In a matter of seconds, the vehicle went on fire, with the others still trapped in the car. We watched as the fire consumed them. It was late into the night.”

The crash has renewed calls for Ghanaian authorities to enforce traffic rules to reduce deaths on the country’s poorly maintained roads.

Gifty Mintah, a resident, said: “We’ve been speaking to the local assembly to fix rumble strips on the road, but they said this is a highway so it’s not possible.For how long are we going to look on for people to keep dying?” Rumble strips make noise to alert drivers when their cars are at the edge of the road.

Crashes are common on highways in Ghana because of poor maintenance, disregard for traffic regulations and unroadworthy vehicles. An average of six people die on the country’s roads every day, according to the Ghanaian police’s motor transport and traffic directorate.

In February 2016, 70 people were killed and 13 injured when two buses collided inKintampo.

In July 2017, one person died when the team bus carrying players and officials from one of Ghana’s leading football clubs, Asante Kotoko, crashed into the back of a stationary lorry.
Two buses collide head-on in a village near Kintampo, Ghana, killing at least 50 people. Almost all casualties are a result of a fire on one of the buses.