Floodwaters wash away vehicle into drain in Ho

A late Thursday afternoon rainstorm plunged a commercial vehicle into a drain in Ho.

The flood also brought tree logs onto the road causing vehicular traffic for hours at the Amegashie Bridge, near the Ho Central market.

The vehicle, with four occupants from Hohoe was washed off the bridge by a strong water current between 1400 and 1600 hours.

Some men in the community who witnessed the incident however braced the storm and rescued the occupants in the vehicle including two women.

Personnel of the Ghana National Ambulance Service responded promptly to send the victims, some with minor injuries, to the Ho Municipal Hospital where they were treated and discharged.

Mary, a 21-year-old woman who was onboard the vehicle with registration number GR 2488 14, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that they had cautioned the driver against using the flooded bridge.

She said the vehicle was partly flooded, and that they used an opened door of the vehicle to escape.

Personnel from the Police, the National Fire Service, and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) rushed to the scene for a joint rescue operation following distress calls.

Residents and business owners in the area told GNA the over 60-year-old bridge has been a trouble spot during rainy seasons.

The GNA was told that locals choked the culverts with different kinds of waste, causing overflowing water to flood the low-lying areas cutting off access to the Ho Central Market.

The storm also fell some trees at the Ho SNNIT Flats, causing a three-hour diversion of heavy traffic heading to and from areas including the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS).

]Heavy rains have made access to UHAS main campus extremely difficult with sections of the road unworthy for vehicular traffic.

The rainstorm also caused flooding on the Ho Polyclinic bridge with challenges for motorists and other road users.

GNA