AIRCRAFT RUNS INTO 2 VEHICLES IN GHANA, KILLS 10

At least 10 people were confirmed dead on Saturday night after an allied Air cargo airplane operating from Lagos to Accra crashed into two commercial vehicles around the Hajj Village near the El Wak Sports Stadium in Accra.

The Boeing 727200 airliner with a crew of four shortly after landing on the runway of the Kotoka International Airport at around 7:Oclock pm, veered off its runway track and in the sped through the Airport fencing wall opposite the El Wak Sports Stadium and in the process ran into a 23-seater commercial bus with registration number GR 5471 Z and a taxi plying the El Wak –Burma Camp road before finally stopping at the Hajj village which is just near the stadium.

The Daily Express Newspaper gathered that though all the four crew members on board in the plane survived and were responding to treatment at the 37 Military Hospital, 10 people in the mini bus were shredded into pieces and confirmed dead with their bodies subsequently deposited at the 37 Military Hospital Morgue.
On the other hand, two other occupants of the taxi which was also involved in the accident escaped unhurt though the taxi appeared damaged.

The cause of the crash was not immediately identified as investigations were still on-going but it is widely attributed to poor visibility and bad weather as a result of rains and thunderstorms experienced in the capital on Saturday evening.
As at the time the Daily Express Newspaper got there, personnel from the security agencies together with the National Ambulance Service and Fire Service were at the scene to put things under control but they had a torrid time dealing with the hundreds of people who had defied the heavy downpour and continuously trooped to the disaster scene to catch a glimpse.

Also at the scene was the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama as well as the Minister of Defence,Lt General Henry Smith and the National Security Coordinator, Col (rtd) Larry Gbevlo-Lartey.
The Mayor of the city of Accra Alfred Nii Okoe Vanderpujie and The National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO),Mr Kofi Portuphy and some other high ranking members of government were also at the scene to get first-hand information.

The management of the Ghana Airport Company in a swift press conference said that operations at the airport were normal with flights operating as scheduled.
Though the Management confirmed the number of casualties as 10, some eye witnesses this paper spoke to claimed it could be more as a motor rider believed to be a military man was also not spared.
Motor related accidents are very common in Ghana but accidents involving airplanes are very rare.