At least eleven people reportedly died when a Dangote company truck collided with a moving bus in Edo State on Thursday (today).
The tragic accident reportedly happened along the
Benin-Lagos expressway around 11 am today.
Dangote truck was heading towards Benin from Lagos on top
speed when it rammed a Toyota Hiace 18 seater bus along Ovia river which
is noted to be notorious for accidents due to a failed section of the road.
It was gathered that the bus had slowed down at the failed
portion of the road after brushing the back side of a Kia vehicle. Other
passengers reportedly numbering about eight sustained degrees of injuries due
to the severity of the accident.
“Toyota Hiace bus going to the East en route Edo state
slowed down at the bad portion of the Ovia river bridge but Dangote truck that
was on top speed rammed into the bus, killing the passengers,” Leadership
quoted an eyewitness.
Some occupants of the bus and victims were coming from Lagos
after attending a programme organized by a popular Lagos-based church.
Confirming the accident, the Edo State Sector Commander of
the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Paul Okpe, said “We
had a crash on the bridge at Ovia River this morning. A truck ran into a Toyota
Hummer Bus and the casualty is 11 persons lost their lives, very unfortunate
and eight persons injured.
Both the dead and the injured were moved to the
University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) by our ambulances and three
vehicles were involved. The truck ran into the Hummer but before hitting the
Hummer bus, it narrowly missed a small Kia vehicle. The three vehicles are in
the police station not far from our office at the Toll Gate.
For the possible cause, we are leaving that to our
Accident Investigations to establish, but it was the truck that ran into the
vehicles and the casualties were in the bus,” Leadership quoted Okpe.
