Five people on board an Opel Astra taxi were killed in a ghastly accident at Asante-Mampong yesterday when their car was run over by a Kia truck carrying packs of sachet water.

The accident happened at about 11:45 am around the Vodafone office in the Mampong Township, DAILY GUIDE gathered.

It took rescuers more than 30 minutes to get all the passengers out of the cab, with registration number AS 4788-14 that was traveling from Jamasi to Mampong.

DSP Yaw Obeng Asubonteng, Mampong Divisional Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) commander, who confirmed the tragic accident, said five occupants of the taxi, including the driver, were confirmed dead.

According to the police chief, the cause of the fatal accident was not yet clear, but some local residents told DAILY GUIDE that the brake of the truck appeared to have failed while descending a slope.

“Before anybody could think of something else, the truck had run over the taxi,” an eyewitness narrated.

According to him, the cabbie could not save the situation as the accident occurred unexpectedly.

He indicated that the taxi was mangled, trapping all the five occupants in the process.

The unidentified driver of the truck, registered GW 1813-12, however, bolted shortly after the accident and had since gone into hiding, being hunted by the police.