A tragic accident at Asiakwa Junction on Monday claimed the lives of two individuals, including a taxi driver, after a fuel tanker traveling from Accra to Kumasi experienced brake failure.
As the tanker neared Asiakwa Junction on the Accra-Kumasi Highway, it lost control and veered onto the lane for Accra-bound vehicles. A taxi driver, attempting to avoid the out-of-control tanker, became trapped underneath it.
The spilled fuel from the tanker ignited shortly after the collision, incinerating both the taxi and the tanker beyond recognition.
Fortunately, two passengers in the taxi managed to escape just in time. However, a Kia truck approaching from Asiakwa Junction failed to observe traffic regulations and collided with the flaming tanker. The driver and his mate sustained head injuries, with the mate dying shortly after arriving at Osiem Saviour Memorial Hospital.
One of the surviving passengers from the taxi recounted his efforts to save the trapped driver: “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.”