One dead, three injured in Accra-Tema Motorway tanker crash

One person has been confirmed dead and three others severely injured following a horrific head-on collision between a fuel tanker and a tipper truck on the Accra-Tema Motorway late Monday night.

The catastrophic crash, which occurred around 11:50 PM on Monday, June 8, 2026, triggered a massive fire that completely engulfed the vehicles and brought movement on the international transit corridor to a complete standstill.

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), according to reports, received a distress call at 11:50 PM and dispatched the Tema Motorway Fire Crew, arriving at the scene within four minutes.

Firefighters encountered a DAF fuel tanker with registration number AS 3555-24 loaded with 54,000 litres of fuel, which was fully ablaze.

Due to the volatile nature of the cargo and the severity of the fire, backup crews from the Ashaiman Fire Station and the Tema Industrial Area Fire Station, alongside an auxiliary water tanker from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, were rushed in to contain the flames.

Firefighters battled the inferno for hours, successfully bringing it under control at 12:56 AM and completely extinguishing it by 1:44 AM on Tuesday.

According to eyewitnesses, the impact of the head-on collision and subsequent fire resulted in the immediate death of one individual.

Emergency officials retrieved the charred remains of a male victim, believed to be the driver of the tipper truck with registration number AS 466-19, which was transporting a load of wood.

The body was handed over to the Ghana Police Service at 2:19 AM for preservation and forensic investigation.

Three other occupants, identified as Kwabena Agyapong, Joseph Teye Quarshie, and Aaron Kyei, involved in the crash, sustained severe injuries.

The trio was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to the Tema General Hospital for urgent medical attention before the arrival of the main fire crews.

The incident took place between Saka Saka Park and Tanink Ghana, causing a severe, hours-long traffic gridlock that backed up for kilometres on both sides of the dual highway.

Commuters traveling from the Ashaiman Underbridge toward the 18 Junction area were stranded until Tuesday morning as emergency teams neutralized the remaining fuel hazards and pulled the mangled metallic structures off the road.

Officials from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) have commenced an intensive investigation to determine how the head-on collision occurred on a structural dual-carriage highway.