Eight dead in bus crash at Azuletti on Elubo-Takoradi N1 highway

Twenty-one passengers rescued after an Ivorian bus rammed into a parked Burkinabè passenger bus near Samenye in the Western Region.

Eight people have died following a fatal road crash involving an Ivorian passenger bus and a parked Burkinabè passenger bus at Azuletti, near Samenye, along the Elubo–Takoradi N1 Highway in the Western Region.

The accident occurred on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at about 7:26 p.m., according to a report by Graphic Online citing information from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).

The report said the Ivorian bus, with registration number AB-415-AN, was travelling towards Benin when it crashed into the rear of the stationary Burkinabè bus, registered KJA-5604J.

The parked bus was reportedly obstructing one lane of the highway when the collision occurred.

Personnel from the GNFS station at Elubo responded to the distress call and rescued 21 passengers following the crash.

Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, while an eighth victim later died at the hospital, bringing the total number of fatalities to eight.

Twenty-one passengers rescued

Firefighters carried out rescue operations at the scene to assist passengers affected by the collision.

The 21 rescued passengers were taken for medical attention, although the report did not specify the number of people who sustained injuries or provide details about their conditions.

The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the police, according to the report.

The identities and nationalities of all the victims had not been disclosed in the available information.

Speeding suspected as possible cause

Preliminary investigations by the Ghana National Fire Service suggested that speeding may have contributed to the accident.

However, the precise circumstances leading to the collision had not been conclusively established in the report, and the suspected role of speed remains subject to further investigation.

The presence of the parked bus obstructing a lane of the highway was also a key detail in the account of the incident.

Authorities are expected to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crash as investigations continue.

Road safety concerns

The tragedy has resulted in the deaths of eight people and prompted a rescue operation involving emergency personnel along the busy highway.

The incident highlights the dangers posed by collisions involving commercial passenger vehicles, particularly on major roads used for long-distance travel across the sub-region.

As investigations proceed, determining why the Burkinabè bus was parked on the highway and the circumstances under which the Ivorian bus approached it will be important to establishing the sequence of events that led to the fatal collision.