Fuel tanker accident claims two lives - E/R Asiakwa

 

Two people including a taxi driver have been confirmed dead after a fuel tanker that was travelling from Accra to Kumasi got involved in an accident at Asiakwa Junction, a town in the Eastern region of Ghana on Monday.

The tanker, which was nearing the Asiakwa Junction on the main Accra Kumasi Highway, reportedly experienced brake failure.

In an attempt to control the situation, the tanker rolled onto the lane for Accra-bound vehicles.

A taxi driver, who was nearing the junction at the time, tried to avoid the rolling tanker but unfortunately got trapped underneath it.

Within moments, the spillage fuel from the tanker ignited, incinerating both the taxi and the tanker beyond recognition.

Miraculously, two passengers in the taxi managed to escape shortly after the collision, before the vehicle was engulfed in flames.

A truck that was also approaching the Pacific fuel station from the Asiakwa Junction failing to observe traffic regulations also collided with the tanker which was in flames.

The driver of the Kia truck and his mate both sustained head injuries but the mate died shortly upon arrival at the Osiem Saviour Memorial Hospital.

One of the passengers who managed to get out of the taxi stated “I tried pulling him [the taxi driver] out, but I could not, and the fire had already started blazing. I would have also burnt because I did all I could to bring him out…He was not dead. There were two people and I had pulled one out and I was trying to pull the other out.” The escaped survival from the accident.