Cargo plane crash in Ghana kills 10, crew survives

ACCRA — A cargo plane crash-landed on Saturday near the airport in Ghana’s capital Accra after overshooting the runway and hit a bus on the ground, killing at least 10 people, but the crew survived, officials said.

Wreckage from the Boeing 727 Allied Air plane could be seen in an area near the airport along with a badly damaged bus. Rescue, police and fire officers flooded the scene and cordoned off the immediate area of the crash.

Ghana’s airport operator confirmed in a statement that “flight number DHV 111, cargo aircraft, operating from Lagos to Accra, has overshot the runway on landing on Saturday June 2, at 7:10 pm local time.”

It added that “the crew of four people on board all survived the accident and are currently receiving treatment at the airport clinic. The aircraft collided with a minivan, resulting in 10 confirmed fatalities …”

One witness reported seeing the plane come down and hit the bus, killing those inside.

“I closed from work, walking home in the rain, only to see the plane falling and people in the Benz bus crashed to death,” said Kofi Anor.

A senior military officer said the plane crash-landed and also spoke of 10 dead. The bus was severely damaged, while the plane’s wings and tail had broken off from its body.

The plane crashed in an area just outside a stadium, near the airport and a military base. It did not appear to strike any houses.

Ghana Vice President John Dramani Mahama told reporters at the airport that a thorough investigation would be carried out.

“No early conclusions should be drawn,” he said before heading toward the scene of the accident.

“We should allow investigations to arrive at the actual cause of the accident. But I can assure Ghanaians that the situation is under control.”

An operator who answered at a number listed for Allied Air said no one was available to speak.

Ghana’s airport operator, Ghana Airport Company Limited, said operations were continuing as normal at the airport and flights were as scheduled.

Kofi Kportufe, head of Ghana’s national disaster management agency, said “this is a sad day for Ghana as our people have died in the accident.”

“But we are grateful for the military, fire service, for the quick response which averted further disaster,” he said. “We want to assure Ghanaians and the entire world that everything is under control. There’s no cause for alarm.”

Posted by admin on Jun 3 2012. Filed under Breaking News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry