The bloodbath on the Cape Coast–Takoradi highway continues to spark alarm as seven lives, including a pregnant woman and a baby, were lost in a horrific head-on collision at Komenda Asamasa in the Central Region on Monday night.
The accident brings the total road death toll in the Central Region to twenty-one in just six weeks.
The Ghana National Fire Service, which led the rescue of six victims trapped in the mangled Sprinter bus, says the situation is becoming a national crisis. The seventh victim is said to be another female who was earlier rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead.
18 people also sustained various degrees of injuries.
The Deputy Central Regional PRO of the Fire Service, ADO1 Ebenezer Fifi Daadize, provided the grim breakdown of the recent surge in fatalities, describing the situation as worrying.
“We’ve recorded 12 accidents with 21 people losing their lives from December to January 14, and then 100 people sustaining injuries,” he revealed.
In an interview on the Atlantic Wave, he emphasised the importance of early reporting of accidents to ensure a prompt response from the fire team.
ADO1 Daadzie raised concerns about “The Golden Hour,” which is the first 60 minutes after a crash that determines whether a victim survives.
“Delay in these times also delays the life of the casualties or the passengers in the car,” he said. “So, we always advise that when there’s an accident, and the victims are trapped in the car, the first point of call should be the Ghana National Fire Service so that we come there early to save lives and properties.”
The Deputy Central Regional PRO of the Fire Service, however, expressed frustration that response times are being hampered by motorists who refuse to yield to sirens, even when lives are hanging in the balance.
He emphasized that the work on the GNFS is highly crucial, saying that firefighters only deploy to accidents where victims are trapped or fighting for survival, not minor injuries.
He urged especially drivers, “Anytime they hear the siren, they should just turn aside for us to pass…It is no joke. It is a death situation…”
ADO1 Daadzie stressed that every second counts, warning that refusing to give way directly threatens the lives of those desperately awaiting rescue.
READ MORE NEWS ON www.atlfmnews.com
