11 DIE IN ACCIDENT AT PONG-TAMALE (PAGE 13)

Story: Vincent Adedze, Pong-Tamale

Eleven persons died in a road accident at Pong-Tamale in the Savelugu/Nanton District in the Northern Region. Nine of them died on the spot.
Among the dead are the drivers of the two vehicles involved in the accident, a pregnant woman and a young boy.
Others who sustained various degrees of injury, including a three-year-old girl who had one leg amputated, are currently receiving treatment at the Tamale Regional Hospital.
The passengers were travelling in a 70-seater bus from Accra to Bawku when it ran into a stationary tipper truck at Pong-Tamale on Thursday morning.
Names of the deceased whose bodies have been deposited at the morgue of the Tamale Hospital are Abu Ayaala Mahama, Umar Alabira (tipper truck driver), Kouri Tinga, Ali Nurudeen, Ouedraogo Bukari and Mohammed.
Five of the deceased are, however, yet to be identified.
The number of persons that escaped unhurt could not, however, be readily established but 17 persons were treated and discharged at the Savelugu Hospital.
The Northern Regional Police Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nana Kumi, told the Daily Graphic that the accident occurred at about 6 a.m. when the 70-seater bus ran into the tipper truck on the outskirts of Pong-Tamale.
He said the tipper truck, which was loaded with sand, was travelling from Walewale to Tamale.
According to the commander, the tipper truck driver, Umar Alabira, decided to park on the shoulder of the road when he sensed danger as the bus had veered off its lane into that of the truck.
Nana Kumi said the tipper truck driver was killed instantly when the bus ran into his vehicle and mangled it in the process. The driver’s mate on the bus is reported to have jumped off the bus when he sensed danger.
He said in all 20 people were on admission at the Savelugu and Tamale hospitals and another four in critical condition were receiving treatment at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
The Regional Road Safety Co-ordinator, Mr Sumani Mbo, who led a team to the accident spot to assess the situation, entreated drivers not to drive for more than eight hours in a day.
He equally warned drivers against driving consistently for more than four hours without having at least 30 minutes of rest.
"I wish to urge vehicle owners to get spare drivers for long distance vehicles to avoid such fatal accidents and the loss of lives," Mr Mbo added.