The Kintampo tragedy struck Sunday afternoon when scores of teenagers were enjoying nature’s beauty at the waterfalls in the Brong-Ahafo Region. Reports reveal that most of the casualties were students who were on an excursion visit at the attraction.
It happened that a strong wind brought down some trees adorning the hills of the waterfalls onto the unfortunate peesons swimming in the waters at that moment, crushing many of them to death, and leaving several others seriously injured. Read full story of the Kintampo tragedy.
Rescue operations comprising the Ghana police Service and the Ghana Fire Service have been working tirelessly at the accident scene since Sunday evening to ensure that all trapped bodies are retrieved.
So far, the rescue workers have declared 18 people dead after bringing their work to a close. Fifteen of the deceased are from Wenchi Methodist Senior High School and three from the University of Energy and Natural Resources. 22 others who were critically injured are currently receiving treatments at the hospital.
According to the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwame Takyi-Poku, they do not expect to find any more bodies owing to the thorough work of the rescuers, which included personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service.
Speaking on Accra Fm, Chief Executive Officer of the Wenchi Methodist Hospital revealed that body identification exercise will be conducted by the police today [Monday], where families of the deceased will be allowed to identify and claim bodies of their loved ones.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described as “unfortunate” Sunday’s incident at Kintampo Falls, while extending his condolences to the bereaved families. The president took to twitter on Monday morning to express his sadness over the fatal accident. See tweets below:
Former President John Mahama has extended his condolence to the bereaved families of students who lost their lives in the Kintampo tragedy. In a Facebook post, the immediate past President of Ghana said he is keeping the bereaved families in mind and also praying for them.
He also called on all to comfort and pray for the bereaved families while asking God to heal the injured as well as receive the souls of the departed. Below is a screenshot of Mahama’s Facebook post:
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku, has offered her condolences to the families of the victims. In a statement released Sunday evening, Madam Afeku called for prayers for the victims and their families. She also appealed to the public to desist from circulating images of the dead and injured.
In the same vein, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Kyeremeh has asked the public to pray for the victims, their families and the entire nation. Describing the Kintampo tragedy as “very unfortunate”, he said he will be at the site to observe the extent of the damages in order to know the next step to take.
Following questions raised on safety measure in place at various tourists sites in the country after the Kintampo waterfalls accident, the Chief of Kyeremankoma revealed that some supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over the place after the party’s victory in the 2016 elections.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Nana Effah Guarkuro, the Kyeremankoma chief said that the Kintampo waterfalls has since been under the effective management of chiefs in the area until some NPP foot soldiers drove out those put in place to see to the welfare of the site and visitors.
He indicated that he reported the matter to the police but nothing was done about it, leaving the place unmanaged and the tourists unguided. This he suggests may have contributed to the Sunday catastrophe.
Meanwhile, Prophet Reynolds Oduro Gyebi, General Overseer of God’s Crown Chapel in Kumasi has said he predicted the Kintampo Waterfalls accident. According to Prophet Gyebi, he foretold the calamity earlier in a prophecy whilst preaching on Kumasi-based radio station, Abusua FM in the Ashanti region, and had advised that the excursion trip be postponed to another date.
“I have seen in a vision that a school is about to embark on an accident to Kintampo Waterfalls, but they had an accident and all of them died. I want them to cancel the trip or postpone it,” he said in a video.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
