The Ebonyi Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed six persons dead in a road mishap that occurred on Friday at Ezzamgbo end of the Enugu–Abakaliki highway.
Mrs Stella Uchegbu, FRSC Sector Commander in Ebonyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that two buses were involved in the accident.
Uchegbu said that the command’s rescue team moved to the scene of the accident immediately they received a distress call on the incident.
She said: “28 persons, comprising 21 male and seven female passengers, were in the two buses but four male and two female occupants died on the spot.”
The FRSC boss said that nine passengers who sustained injuries were taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital (FETHA), Abakaliki for medical treatment.
She said that the remains of the dead passengers had been deposited at the hospital’s morgue.
She attributed the accident to “speed violation,” adding that the two vehicles had a head-on collision.
Uchegbu said that one of the buses, marked ‘Peoples Choice’, was from Taraba, while the second was a Mitsubishi L300 bus.
She admonished motorists to obey traffic regulations at all times in order to curb road mishaps, especially during the ’ember months.’
An eyewitness said that residents of the area rushed to the scene and immediately commenced rescue operation before the arrival of the FRSC team.
“Accidents occur regularly at this end of the expressway. It took the timely intervention of FRSC team and a handful of sympathisers to rescue the victims.
“We learnt that most of the passengers were students of a private university in one of the South-south states, said to be returning from a trip.
“We appeal to the relevant authorities to take measures to check the incessant accidents on this part of the highway,” the eye witness told NAN on the condition of anonymity.
