Commuters stranded for 8 hours on Takoradi-Tarkwa road

A record eight-hour gridlock left hundreds of motorists and passengers stranded Thursday along the Takoradi-Tarkwa road, one of the busiest major roads in the Western Region.

A tanker transporting liquified petroleum gas lost balance and fell on its side at a portion of the road between Nsuaem and Kofikrom around 12:00, cutting off vehicles travelling from both ends.

No explosion occurred though the tanker was said to be containing LPG.

Emergency services comprising the Police, officials from the Ghana National Fire Service and the National Road Safety Commission were called in on time to ensure the lives of the people around and properties were not endangered.

Passengers were kept at bay to prevent any activity that could cause the flammable content to explode, witnesses told Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson of Takoradi-based Connect FM.

It took five hours before both commuters and motorist could temporarily heave a sigh of relief as the team managed to move the truck from the main road to the shoulders to allow traffic to flow.

Even that, witnesses told our correspondent, the emergency team had to stay on to direct traffic as the truck and its content posed danger.

It was until after 8:30pm that a crane brought to handle the situation managed to totally move the tanker from the scene, the Tarkwa MTTD Commander Victoria Yamoah told Connect FM.

No injuries or casualty was recorded in the accident.