Commuters on the Takoradi-Accra highway were stranded for hours after a Zoomlion Crane fell off a trailer and blocked the Road near the University of Cape Coast. The incident happened around 8:30 am on Tuesday morning.

The crane, with registration number GT 5975-23, was being transported from Accra to Takoradi by Ebeko Services, a logistics company. The accident caused a gridlock on the highway, forcing motorists to use the UCC campus as a bypass under the direction of Security Personnel.

The grey and green crane, which fell off the trailer with registration number GC 9677-12, landed on its side, blocking the Accra-bound side of the road just a few meters after the UCC West Gate. Fortunately, there were no injuries or fatalities.

However, the accident caused a major traffic jam on that stretch, with the road completely blocked.

A joint team from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Service (GNFS) directed traffic as efforts were made to clear the road.

However, it took more than two hours to remove the crane from the road, causing significant delays for commuters. Eventually, the crane could not be lifted, but one side of the road was cleared for traffic to flow.

Eyewitnesses gave varying accounts of speeding and overtaking on the stretch, while the driver of the trailer, who identified himself only as Atsu, blamed the accident on a speed ramp that caused the lowbed to lose balance. The security personnel at the scene were not immediately available for comment.

Speaking on the incident, the Western Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Abdul Ganiyu Mohammed, cautioned drivers to adhere to road safety regulations to prevent such accidents in the future.

He also urged the public to cooperate with emergency service personnel and security personnel during such incidents to prevent further chaos.

As at the time of filing this report, traffic was moving slowly on the highway.