A commercial luxury bus lost control and plunged into a river in Ikorodu area of Lagos State, at the early hours of Friday, leaving three passengers dead.
An eye witness account blamed the accident on the driver’s “reckless driving,” saying he lost control of the vehicle as a result of over speeding. At least, three people have reportedly lost their lives while several others secured minor injuries
As gathered, the bus belonging to G.O.U Transport conveying passengers from the eastern part of the country, plunged into Owode river at Owode Elede area of Ikorodu in Lagos State.
Rescue operations have began as at the time of filing this report, as both the LASTMA and LASEMA and LASTMA official have arrived the scene of the accident to rescue the survivors.
The accident has affected traffic at Mile 12 – Ikorodu road, hence, commuters coming towards the Ikorodu axis are advised to ply the BRT lane from Owode as the traffic currently is on standstill.
According to LASEMA in a release: “The Agency received a distress call at about 3.23 am today 17/2/2017, via the emergency toll free number 767/112 concerning a Luxurious Bus with registration number Anambra GDD 386 YE belonging to GUO Transport Service Co. LTD which was gathered to be enroute Maza Maza from Aba, Abia State.
“According to preliminary investigations conducted at the incident scene.The luxurious bus was said to have skidded off its track while on top speed and plunged into the Canal at Owode Elede, before Mile 12. Ikorodu Road.
“The bus with 59 passengers on board had 23 people injured and were treated on the spot by a joint team of LASEMA Paramedics and LASAMBUS, 9 out of the treated victims were taken to the Lagos State Trauma Centre at the Toll Gate for further treatment, while 2 adult male and 1 female which include the motor boy were recovered dead from the Canal.
“The 3 dead bodies, accidented bus and their belongings were handed over to the men of the Nigeria Police, Owode Division.
The Agency recovered the accidented vehicle with the aid of its heavy duty equipment Crain from the Canal and towed it off the road to ensure free flow of traffic.
“The response and recovery operations was coordinated by LASEMA in conjunction with LASTMA, LASAMBUS, Lagos State Fire Service, RRS, Task Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, FRSC, NEMA amongst others.”
The General Manager Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu affirmed that a proper investigation would be conducted on the incident.
However, he advised motorist to be safety conscious and avoid excessive speeding while driving especially when embarking on night journeys.