Close analysis has drawn the attention of Today to the fact that certain key national disasters have all happened on Wednesdays, thus compelling the paper to ask if these are the results of sheer coincidences or whether they point to a particular pattern.
The recent horrifying accident on the Kintampo Road that has resulted in the death of 71 people (as at the time of going to press,) sent this paper.
to the archives for information on national disasters of the past and apart from the loss anguish and pain Ghana has had to deal with over the years, and it came out that the country a good number of those disasters happened on Wednesdays.
On the morning of Thursday, yesterday, Ghanaians woke up to the horrifying news that there has been a very fatal accident on the Kintampo Road around 8:00P.M. the night before, Wednesday, February 18, 2016.
According to the reports, a cargo truck with registration number AS 1414 16 and carrying boxes of tomatoes en route from Burkina Faso to the south of Ghana collided with a fully-loaded Metro Mass Transit Bus with registration number AS 7131 Y heading from Kumasi to Tamale.
File Photo
As at the time of going to press, official reports put the death toll at 71 people.
According to reports, the Metro Mass driver lost control of the vehicle and in the process of trying to save the situation ended up colliding with the truck.
Also the June3 twin disaster last year at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was a Wednesday. On that day, six hours of torrential rain doused Accra in about six months of average annual rainfall, connived with accidental factors at the Goil filling station at Kwame Nkrumah Circle to cause an explosion and fire of petrol that eventually caused the death of over 200 people.
That disaster compelled national administration to declare three (3) days of national mourning.
So many homes in the city were inundated by floods, some people also lost their lives in the floods and property running into millions of cedis in a disaster most are yet to recover from. The raging waters carried away lots of vehicles and kiosks that were the sleeping quarters of many in this crowded city.
Flash back: Melcom disaster
Another disaster which shook the nation was the Achimota Melcom disaster and that also happened on Wednesday, November 7, 2012. On that fateful day, the five five-storey building housing the Achimota branch of retail giant, Melcom Ghana Limited, caved in completely burying all people, shop workers and shoppers, and all the goods beneath piles of rubble.
According to reports, the people were trapped under rubble for hours before rescue workers – from National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service, etc. – came along to save lives. Eventually, according to official reports, 14 people died and over 8 were injured.
The mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, promised an investigation that would result in the prosecution and punishment of those whose acts and omissions led to the collapse of the building and set out payment of compensation to living victims and families of the dead.
The Ghana Institute of Engineers (GIE) was mandated to set up an 11-member committee led by Professor Samuel Innocent Kofi Ampadu, the committee successfully completed its work and presented its report along with recommendations, but these are yet to be implemented.
What was left of the truck that was transporting the traders
Then there is the May 9, 2001 Ohene Gyan Sports Stadium disaster in which over 126 football fans were trapped and died during rampage sparked by disagreement over a goal and botched match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
On the fateful day, Kotoko was leading by a lone goal scored by Lawrence Adjei, and then Hearts equalised by an Ishmael Addo strike. A section of the crowd, obviously Kotoko supporters, felt there was something wrong with the goal and in their anger started pulling up plastic seats and throwing these onto the field.
To calm down the angry crowd in the stands, the police fired tear gas into its midst setting off the stampede. That fateful day, May 9, 2001, too was a Wednesday.
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