A Metro Mass Transit Bus, with registration number GR 5182-15 has been completely razed by fire at Opeikuma Junction, along the Kasoa-Winneba highway. The accident which occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, 22nd March 2017, was triggered by the consecutive explosion of the MMT bus’ two tyres.
Reports reveal that the bus was conveying over 30 passengers from Accra to Cape Coast. Very fortunately, all the occupants of the bus escaped unhurt before fire had the better part of the vehicle.
According to one of the passengers who spoke to Joy News, one of the back tyres first exploded, causing the driver to halt the bus. But few moments after he stopped, the other back tyre also burst, causing panic among the remaining passengers in the bus who immediately started jumping out through the windows.
The Ghana Fire Service was immediately contacted, but the passenger who spoke to Joy News said it took them more than 30 minutes to arrive at the scene. Owing to their late arrival, virtually nothing was saved from the MMT bus after the fire was put out.
One of the fire officers however said that they delayed because the call did not get to them directly but first went to their Accra head office before it was transferred to them.
Howbeit, our immense gratitude goes to the Almighty God who never allowed any casualty to be recorded. With the late response of the Fire Service, any occupant of the bus would have been burnt to ashes in the fire. And Ghana would have wept once more; even as the tears from the Kintampo waterfalls tragedy are still falling down the cheeks of many.
Although the exact cause of the tyre explosions and the ensuing fire are yet to be established, the incident calls for more maintenance habits among vehicle owners and drivers, as accidents such as this are usually caused by poor maintenance and failure to fix a long overdue fault.
Watch a short video of the fire accident below.
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