Two people have died after a small aircraft crashed and burst into flames near a school park at Tema Community One in the Greater Accra Region on Monday afternoon.
The aircraft reportedly fell before crashing at the Oninku Drive School Park at Site 17, close to the TMA Daycare in the community.
Personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) quickly moved to the scene to contain the fire and secure the area.
Divisional Officer II Ebenezer Yenzu, the Tema Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, said firefighters received the initial alert shortly before 1 p.m.
“So, we received a call around 12:59 that there was an outbreak of fire at Community 1, Site 18. And so as we rushed to the scene, we got into the Daycare, TMA Daycare and realised that there was a blazing fire involving a chopper that had fallen just close to the wall of the pre-school,” he said.
He explained that firefighters, working together with personnel from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA), managed to extinguish the flames and secure the surrounding area to prevent further danger.
“So our men from our end and GHAPOHA tried to douse the fire and also ensure that we’ll be able to at least cordon off the area so as not to create any hazard to the occupants who are around,” he added.
According to the fire service, teachers and pupils at the nearby daycare centre had already evacuated the premises before the emergency teams arrived, preventing casualties among the children.
“But by the time we got here, the teachers and the pupils had just evacuated the school and were just on the street, and so none of the students or the pupils or the teachers got injured,” Mr Yenzu said.
He confirmed that two men who were on board the aircraft died in the crash.
“But at the end of the day, when we finished dousing the flame, we realised that it’s a chopper which had two persons on board, two persons on board, all males, and we’ve been able to retrieve the bodies and sent them to the morgue through the police for preservation and autopsy,” he stated.
The crash site has since been cordoned off by security personnel as investigations begin into the cause of the accident.
“You can see that the scene has also been cordoned off to enhance the investigation. We are looking at calling up the aircraft experts so that they will come in and ensure that what transpired for the aircraft to have fallen into the school, investigations will begin earnestly into it, and we’ll come to a conclusion on what caused this accident,” he said.
Mr Yenzu added that authorities had identified the aircraft registration number as 9G-ADV, although its origin and the circumstances leading to the crash were still under investigation.
“As we speak, we’ve been able to identify the number of the aircraft, which is 9G-ADV, we’ve been able to identify the aircraft, but as to where it is coming from and the cause of the accident, we are still investigating it, and with time, we’ll be able to furnish you with further details.”
Meanwhile, the Assembly Member for the Kwesi Plange Electoral Area, Ahmed Abdullia, said no students of the nearby school were injured in the incident.
See photographs from the crash site below;
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
