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The National Road Safety Commission (NSRC) says it believes excessive speeding could be one of the causes of the unfortunate loss of lives in Wednesday's fatal accident which occured on the Kintampo-Tamale highway.

Though the police Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) is yet to release the report on the cause of the gory accident, Executive Director of the NRSC, Mrs. May Obiri Yeboah is certain the head-on collision which has caused the death of several people could be due to over-speeding by both drivers on the highway.

More than 60 people are feared dead in a fatal accident on the Kintampo-Tamale highway.

Most of the injured have been airlifted to hospitals in Techiman, Sunyani, and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi where they are receiving treatment.

Six injured persons said to be in critical condition, after sustaining series of fractures on their arm, and legs, with one having serious head injuries, have been sent to the Holy Family Hospital for treatment. 

The accident which occurred on Wednesday evening involved a truck carrying boxes of tomatoes from Burkina Faso with registration number AS 1414-16 and a Metro Mass Transit Bus heading to Tamale from Kumasi with registration number AS 7131-Y.

According to some of the survivors on the Metro Mass bus, their driver recognised a brake problem and stopped to work on it. A couple of minutes later, he returned to assure them that the bus was in a good condition only to ram into the truck. Drivers of both vehicles died instantly due to the impact of the crash.

The Metro Mass Transit bus was said to have carried about 80 passengers instead of the maximum limit of 56 when it collided with the truck.

Commenting on the accident on Okay Fm’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, GRSC boss expressed shock at the tragic consequences of the accident since she believed her institution had done a great job over the years in drumming home its road safety campaigns.

“The Commission is saddened by this accident and it is something we never envisaged to occur after our several campaigns on road safety….what I know can cause head-on collision is speeding and this explains why a lot of people lost their lives,” she bemoaned.

Delving into the GRSC's activities with the MMT, Mrs. Obiri Yeboah, who enumerated on her outfit's regular engagement with the MMT and believed there has been some marked improvement in their (MMT's) operations, was however at a loss how Wednesday night's accident could be so fatal.

"....the Road Safety Commission will again meet with MMT and come out with a policy that will curtail similar incidents from happening...the state should ensure all long distance buses have seat belts to save lives," she assured.