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Some casual workers of Komenda Sugar Factory were on Monday, June 6, 2016 involved in a fatal accident which claimed the life of one of them.

The accident, according to eye witnesses, occurred at Apewosika in the Abura-Asebu Kwamankese (AAK) District of the Central Region.

The eyewitnesses narrated to Today that the KIA Truck with registration number CR 878-11 which the workers were travelling on somersaulted when it got to Apewosika.

45-year-woman, Efua Sarkuaah, one of the workers on board  of the KIA truck, was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Central Regional Hospital.

Fifty two (52) others who sustained various degrees of injuries are currently receiving treatment at the same hospital.

The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Central Regional Hospital morgue for autopsy.

The workers who are farmers were returning from their farms at Abaasa to Apewosika when the accident occurred.

According to the eyewitnesses, the accident happened around 7:30 pm.

They continued that the driver of the truck who is now at large tried to climb a hill but failed due to the heavy weight of the 75 people who were sitting in the bucket of the truck.

The workers, the eyewitnesses said, had gone to cut sugarcane to sell the following day (Tuesday, June 07, 2016) to the sugar factory.

Meanwhile, Today’s visit to the sugar factory at Komenda yesterday showed a rather peaceful and calm atmosphere with few people on site.

Although there were some construction labourers on site, Today observed that the machines for the manufacturing of the sugar had been shut down.

The labourers were also seen undertaking construction works on the site with some of their supervisors, who are Indians, supervising them.

And it was not clear whether the labourers were the same workers at the factory section since they were tight-lipped and were not ready to speak to the media.

But a source close to the factory told Today that the machines were put on at midnight and shut down early in the morning around 6:00 a.m., the next day.

Efforts by Today to get authorities at the factory to explain the situation proved futile since no one was willing to talk to the paper.

However, a press release signed by the acting Director of Communication and Public Affairs at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Nana Akrasi-Sarpong, and issued by the Central Regional Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Kwesi Dawood, in Cape Coast yesterday stated that the factory was in a piloting and testing stage where calibration of the machines and equipment is taking place.

According to the statement, the factory would resume full production in October/November when the major harvesting period for sugarcane in October/ March begins.

It rubbished the rumours making rounds that the factory has been closed down for maintenance, urging farmers to continue to sell their sugar cane to the factory.

“The government is committed to the success of the factory likewise the Indian government and all measures are being taken to ensure that,” the statement added.