Tragedy struck on Monday as 24 passengers lost their lives in two separate auto crashes. Eighteen died in an accident at Okada town, on the Benin-Ore -Lagos expressway, just as another six persons died on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Those dead in the Edo auto crash included two children, 15 adults and a motor-boy of a heavy duty truck.
The accident which occurred at Okada involved a heavy Mark truck loaded with gravel and a commercial Toyota bus belonging to Peace Mass Transit Company Limited,thus causing heavy caused heavy traffic gridlock.
Mr. Kenneth Nwaegbe, Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the accident. Two children and 16 adults died.
“It was not really a head-on-collision like that. What happened was that the Mack truck was carrying gravel and was coming from Ore to Benin when it lost one of its tyres and control. And the Toyota bus was coming from Benin to Lagos when the two collided,” Edo FRSC boss said.
Coordinator of Save Accident Victims of Nigeria, Dr Eddy Ehikhamenor, said all the victims were burnt beyond recognition.
On Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the accident involved a commercial Mazda bus, with the registration number Oyo XE 675 LUY and a Mack truck, with the registration number Lagos XX 455 GGE, at Kilometre 114.
Eye witness account said a 14-passenger bus veered off the road and hit a truck parked by the roadside. Four males and two females aboard the bus died.
Assistant Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Oluyole Unit 1, Sanya Adeoye, said the unit in conjunction with the rescue team of the state ambulance service and team of Operation Burst, was at hand to rescue some victims, while
The remains of the dead had been deposited at the Adeoyo State Hospital morgue, Ring Road, Ibadan, FRSC Assistant Corps Commander, Oluyole Unit 1, Sanya Adeoye confirmed.
“The bus veered off the road to hit the stationary truck by the side of the road. We could not ascertain the cause of the crash, but we strongly suspect a mechanical deficiency that made the driver of the bus to veer off the road.
“In all, 14 passengers were involved, six died (four males and two females) while their corpses have been deposited at the Adeoyo morgue,” he said.
