Nine passengers died instantly when two Toyota Hiace buses belonging to 2M Express Company Limited collided head-on at Birimso near the Bunso stretch of the Accra to Kumasi highway.

Nineteen (19) other passengers with serious injuries have been admitted to the hospitals.

The fatal crash occurred at about 4:30 am, on Sunday, March 25, 2023.

The two buses, with registration numbers GN 3229-21 and GN 8292-20 with a total of 28 passengers aboard, were reportedly speeding.

It is believed that the bus from Accra suddenly veered off to the lane of the oncoming bus from Kumasi colliding head-on at Birimso stretch of the highway where a trailer truck carting container had been involved in a crash with the container on the shoulders of the road.

Drivers and residents nearby rushed to the scene to support the rescue effort.

Kwame Dan, a driver who went to the scene was worried over how 2M Express Buses excessively speed on the road.

According to Bunso Station Officer of Ghana National Fire Service, ADO II Samuel Doe, they dispatched a rescue team to the scene immediately after receiving a distress call about the crash around 4:30 am.

He said victims trapped in the car were extricated and were sent to Kibi Government Hospital and Hawa Memorial Saviour Hospital in Kyebi and Osiem respectively.

ADO II confirmed 9 passengers died on the spot while other victims were seriously injured.

He described the impact of the crash as devastating as one of the vehicles mangled to the size of a taxi.

He disputed claims that the Toyota Hiace Bus from Kumasi might have swerved the fallen container causing the collision.

“The trailer carrying container had an accident there but when you observe you can see that the container is not in the middle of the road. Some people were saying the vehicle from Kumasi swerved the container but looking at the scene actually, you could observe that the car that was coming from Kumasi was in its lane correctly and that the one coming from Accra diverted to the Kumasi lane. From my observation, I will say the accident wasn’t caused by the trailer”.

The latest accident brings to 18 the total number of road fatalities recorded within 24 hours in the region during the weekend.

Eight (8) passengers aboard a commercial Hyundai Vehicle with registration Number GB 4644 – 20 from Juapong heading to Accra died when the vehicle collided head-on with a long heavy-duty track with registration GT 6473-21 after he failed to wait for the truck to pass at a narrow section of the road where Granbird Bus had been stationary.

Same day in the afternoon, a Toyota Corolla Car with registration number GE 4157-23 driven by an Engineer with the Electricity Company of Ghana knocked down a pedestrian, Grace Adu, 60, to death at Nyamebekyere on Koforidua to Adukrom road.