Ghana: 18 dead after tree falls at waterfall

By Umaru Sanda Amadu

ACCRA, Ghana (AA) - At least 18 people have died at a popular tourist site in Ghana after a tree at the top of a waterfall fell into a pool below.

Dr. Garvin Apio, medical superintendent at Kintampo Municipal Hospital, told local radio station Citi FM on Monday that most of the fatalities from the incident at Kintampo Falls in southern Brong Ahafo Region are students from a local university and high school.

Officials from the Ghana National Fire Service assisted in pulling out the dead and more than 20 injured from the water late Sunday.

Early respondents reportedly used chainsaws to cut off the tree branches before some of the trapped students were rescued.

Some of the injured tourists are receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Minister for Tourism Catherine Afeku, who is scheduled to visit the accident site Monday, said “the Ghana Tourism Authority will work closely with the Ghana Police and the Kintampo District Assembly to ensure the families receive needed support and information.”

Kintampo Falls is a tourist site popular among domestic and international tourists who throng to the area in the thousands every week.