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General News of Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Source: Adom News/Ghana

Dead bodies pile up at Kintampo Hospital;

mortuary facilities broken down

Bodies of about 12 person who died from a fatal accident which occurred on the Kintampo road on Saturday have been abandoned at the Kintampo Hospital; worse still, facilities at the hospital’s mortuary have also broken down.

The tragic accident involving an articulated truck and an OA passenger bus with registration number, AS 9141 Y claimed 16 lives; nine men and seven women and left several others with various degrees of injuries.

The bodies were conveyed to the Kintampo Hospital but they could be accommodated because the mortuary is inactive.

According to reports, fridges in the mortuary broke down about three years ago and countless appeals made to authorities for repairs or replacements have fallen on deaf ears.

Adom News reporter, Wiafe Akenteng said mortuary attendants have devise another means of preserving the bodies for a while; they embalm corpses with a liquefied mixture known as Formalin usually found in laboratories for preserving dead animals among others and which could last for about six months.

They, however, said the mixture is very expensive, and are unable to purchase the need quantity for their service.

An investigator at the Kintampo branch of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) office, Inspector Baba Ayamba told Adom News that they go through a lot of pressure as a result of the problems the hospital faces.

He said it is difficult identifying the corpses because they had no identity cards and appealed to government to quickly salvage the situation at the hospital so lives can be saved, and to also ensure that corpses brought there are managed properly in good sanitary conditions.

Meanwhile, four bodies from the Kintampo accident have so far been identified with 12 yet to be claimed. The corpses have since been temporarily embalmed awaiting relatives to convey them to proper storage facilities.