Eleven people were confirmed dead in an accident involving three vehicles on Agulu Lake Bridge by Awka-Ekwulobia Road in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra state.
Mr. Adeoye Irelewuyi, the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra, confirming the incident to newsmen in Awka, said that the accident occurred at about 5.00 p.m on Sunday.
Irelewuyi said that 20 people were involved in the accident which was caused by wrongful overtaking and over speed.
The crash involved a Mack truck with no registration number and a Mitsubishi L300 bus marked XA 857 UMN, carrying 14 passengers.
The driver of the truck was alleged to have lost control of the vehicle due to overspeeding and rammed into an oncoming L300 18 seater bus and a minibus popularly known as shuttle Bus with registration number UMZ23XC occupied by five persons. The accident which took place in the evening resulted in a fire outbreak, leaving eleven people dead.
It was reported that five passengers in the shuttle bus were rescued alive and unhurt, while the passengers in the Mitsubishi Bus were trapped in the fire where seven persons were burnt beyond recognition.
Read Also: Man remanded for sexually molesting underage brothers in Adamawa
According to an eyewitness, who identified himself as pilot, “I am a commercial driver plying this route. This road is a death trap now. Aside being a very high hill, the road is in very bad condition and yet the government is turning blind eye to it. I believe this truck may have lost control because it either failed break while the man was trying to avoid potholes and so he went crushing people on their lane. If this road was good, he should have stayed on his lane and possibly hit the concrete bars by the roads. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.”
Another witness who could not really speak to this source was heard lamenting and weeping. she was heard saying, “this road keeps eating people’s lives. Are we sure it is just about bad roads or is there something we are yet to find out? God help us.”
It was alleged that two female students of Federal Polytechnic Oko lost their lives in the crash. One of the students was identified as Chizzy while the other is yet to be identified. An executive of the judicial arm of the student union government of the school confirmed this to through a broadcast he made via is social media handle.
The sector commander said that FRSC rescue team from Nanka were on ground to divert traffic, saying that efforts were being made to evacuate the burnt bodies and clear the obstruction caused by the crash.
