Nineteen people, comprising eight women and 13 men, lost their lives in an accident that occurred at the Wassa Subriso township in the Western Region.
The accident is said to have occurred around 7:30pm last Saturday morning.
Wassa Akropong District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Isaac Kumnipah told The Finder that a Ford Transit mini-bus, with registration number AS 28 30-16, with passengers on board was travelling from Bogoso in the Western Region to Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
He explained that on reaching the Wassa Subriso township, the Ford mini-bus hit the rear of a DAF articulated truck with registration number AS 2214-X which was loaded with cement and parked on the edge of the road due to a mechanical fault it had developed.
According to him, the victims were rushed to the Wassa Akropong Government Hospital, where Dr Zack Moussah of the hospital told police that all the 19 people have lost their lives.
ASP Kumnipah said bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the mortuary of the hospital.
Additional information gathered by The Finder indicates that the Ford Transit mini-bus was carrying 16 passengers while the other three people who died are said to include the mate of the trailer, a mechanic and another person. They were repairing the DAF truck when the incident happened.
According to information, five Muslims who died in the accident were buried yesterday.
The five Muslims include four women from the same family. The four women travelled from Obuasi Tutuka in the Ashanti Region to Bogoso in the Western Region to attend a naming ceremony and were on their way back to Obuasi when the accident occurred.
Their family members got wind of the accident and rushed to the hospital for the bodies and buried them at Wassa Amenfi in the Wassa Amenfi East District of the Western Region.
Another Muslim man in the bus was also buried at Manso Amenfi in the same region.
ASP Kumnipah said it is the duty of police to protect life and property.
“We are advising drivers that whenever their vehicles develop mechanical fault, they should park off the road to give way to other road users.
“They should also reduce speed whenever they are approaching communities along the road so that together we can protect life and property”, he added.
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