Hundreds stranded on Buipe bridg-due to blockage by falling long vehicle

Hundreds of passengers got stranded at Buipe, as a long vehicle loaded with goods fell and blocked the Buipe bridge in the Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region.

The Buipe Bridge is the connecting nerve between the South and the North through to the Sahelien Region, accounting for heavy movement of goods and services.

Some of the stranded passengers who were travelling to various destinations slept two days as no vehicle could cross either side of the bridge.

There were about two hundred vehicles loaded with passengers and goods parked at the shoulders of the road at the time the Ghanaian Times arrived at the scene on Sunday.

Mr  Alhassan Malik, a passenger who was traveling from Tamale to Accra told the Ghanaian Times that he spent 24 hours at the spot.

He said that they arrived at Buipe at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and were there as of  8:00 p.m. the following day.

Mr Malik lamented that what was more disturbing and worrisome was that it took more than five hours for police personnel to arrive at the scene.

 He was contemplating returning to Tamale since it was not possible to meet the deadline of what he going to do in Accra.

One of the stranded drivers, James Kumi told the Ghanaian Times in an interview that they had spent 14 hours at the spot.

He stated that no vehicle could cross the bridge as the long vehicle had blocked the road.

Mr. Kumi attributed the cause of the accident to the big potholes on the middle of the bridge.

He explained that the driver, especially long vehicle drivers found it very difficult to “dodge” potholes.

Another driver who only gave his name as Bawa described the potholes on the bridge as “manholes and wells.”

He warned that more serious accidents could happen in the days ahead should the authorities fail to fix the potholes.

Mr Bawa lamented that crossing the Buipe bridge was a headache for all drivers using the road.

Mr Williams Adam, a resident of Buipe said the potholes on the bridge posed serious treats to lives, as vehicles and other motorists were getting involved in accidents on it.

He appealed to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to do something about the potholes on the bridge to avert any disaster.

The commander of the police team directing traffic on the bridge at the time of the accident refused to talk to media personnel. 

FROM YAKUBU ABDUL-MAJEED, BUIPE