Twenty-five persons have been confirmed dead, while 103 are on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, following the crash of a cargo-truck, on which they were travelling, at Zagyire, near Kamina Barracks on Saturday.
Twenty-one died on the spot, and four later at the Hospital. One of the injured, Abdulai Mohammed has his right arm amputated.
Police sources told the Ghana News Agency that the victims were mourners, who were being transported by the Leyland cargo-truck with registration number NR 1259 W from Zoggu to funeral grounds at Tamale - an 18 kilometre journey.
The accident occurred when the vehicle veered off the road and crashed into a gutter after overtaking a tipper truck loaded with sand.
The Driver, Mohammed Abdulai, 24, reportedly lost control of the steering wheel when he spotted an articulated-truck from the opposite direction, shortly after the overtaking.
The Northern Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Blewushie Godwin Cashman told the Ghana News Agency, in Tamale, on Sunday, that Abdulai, who was not seriously injured, has been given protective custody but would be prosecuted.
He said the cargo truck was not supposed to carry passengers, explaining that the vehicle has been insured to carry only three passengers.
"He would surely be prosecuted for carrying people with an unauthorized vehicle," he stressed.
Mr Amos Azure, a Staff Nurse at the Surgical Ward of the Hospital, told the GNA on Sunday that the amputation was carried out on Saturday.
He said the Medical Staff on duty were overwhelmed with the load of work, while their facilities were overstretched.
"There are only five workers - two nurses, two student nurses and one doctor, a Houseman," he explained. "We were left in the Hospital overnight to take care of 105 patients at the Surgical Unit One."
Mr Azure said when the accident occurred, some health workers, who heard about it, went to the Hospital to assist but after the emergency treatment, the work became too cumbersome for them to handle.
He said the Hospital did not also have enough beds for all the patients, adding that the National Disaster Management Organisation could only provide 20 mattresses, which was could not address the problem.
The tragic incident attracted a lot of people, yesterday, including family members, who thronged the accident scene and the Hospital to sympathize with the victims or satisfy their curiosity.
The scene at the Hospital was pathetic as victims were scattered at various parts of the OPD, with dead bodies lying around.
The dead were buried on Sunday afternoon.