A wave of grief swept through the Obogu community on today as 16 members of the Saviour Church of Ghana, who died in a tragic road accident earlier this week, were laid to rest in a solemn mass burial ceremony.
The victims, all part of the church’s youth ministry, perished on Monday, July 28, when the vehicle transporting them from an annual church programme in the Eastern Region collided head-on with an oncoming fuel tanker on the Atwedie stretch of the Kumasi–Accra highway.
The mass funeral, held in Obogu in the Asante Akyem North Municipality, was attended by hundreds of mourners, including grieving relatives, church leaders, community members, and sympathizers from across the region.
The ceremony was marked by emotional scenes as pallbearers lowered the caskets into a single, large communal grave a powerful symbol of unity in life and death.
15 dead bodies were buried in one big pit dug in the early hours of the day while the only child among the youth was buried separately.
“This is a heartbreaking moment not only for the families but for the entire community,” said one church elder Mr. Boateng Asumadu. “These young souls were full of promise, and their sudden departure is a wound that will take long to heal.”
According to eyewitness accounts, the crash occurred around 2:30 p.m. when the bus carrying the church members collided with a fuel tanker traveling in the opposite direction.
Initial investigations suggest the tanker may have experienced a tyre burst while overtaking another vehicle, leading to the deadly collision.
The tragedy has plunged the Saviour Church and the Obogu township into mourning, as residents struggle to come to terms with the scale of the loss.
Local authorities have launched an investigation into the accident and called for stricter enforcement of road safety regulations to prevent similar disasters in the future.
Source: starrfm.com.gh /Isaac Justice Bediako
