10 die, five injured in Akure road crash

FILE PHOTO

No fewer than ten people lost their lives in an accident on the Akure / Owo road on Wednesday, while five others were critically injured.

The fresh accident which occurred at Agbogbo area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, involved a Toyota 14-passenger commercial bus with registration number Plateau PKN 63 XA with another commercial Mercedes Benz bus with registration number Abuja 561 KWL.

Witnesses who said the accident occurred around 5 am could not ascertain the cause of the accident but said the position of the vehicles indicated that there was a head-on collision.

He said one of the buses was heading towards Lagos from Jos, while the second one was coming from Lagos saying most of the victims lost their lives before help could reach them.

The eyewitness said, “We just heard a very loud sound and we quickly rushed down there and met the two buses in the accident while the passengers were trapped inside one of the buses. Many of them were already dead. ”

He explained that men of the Ondo State Police Command and the officials the Federal Road Safety Corps rescued and took those injured to the hospital while the bodies of those who lost their lives had been deposited at the morgue.

He said the identity of the victims of the accident was not known as at the time of filing this report.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Femi Joseph confirmed the incident and said it was caused by reckless driving and dangerous overtaking on the parts of the vehicles involved.

He said “It was clear that the accident was caused by reckless driving of the drivers of the vehicles who we learned overtook dangerously,”

He appealed to the motorists on the highways to always observe the rules of driving and be mindful of the road rules and regulations.