Eight die in Abia road accident

Eight passengers travelling in an 18-seater bus have lost their lives in a fatal accident that occurred in Abia State.

Several other passengers were also injured in the accident but were rushed to hospital for treatment.

The road accident which occurred near Umuikaa junction along the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt expressway involved a white commercial bus belonging to Egbon Investment Transport LTD.

An eyewitness, Mrs Cherechi Ahaiwe, who spoke on the incident, said the accident happened at about 7:00 am when the bus crashed into a parked truck along the expressway.

The eyewitness narrated that the accident may have been caused by poor visibility on the part of the bus driver who was hampered by early morning harmattan haze.

“I was displaying my goods for sale in the morning when I suddenly heard a boom and when I turned, I saw that a fast-moving bus crashed into a trailer.

People were crying and shouting for help from inside the bus.”

“Sympathisers started breaking the doors of the bus to rescue the passengers. Sadly, eight of them died and others were wounded seriously.” said the eyewitness.

Ahaiwe said most of those that lost their lives were those sitting in the front and middle areas of the bus resulting from the impact of the crash.

Meanwhile, the corpses of the dead passengers have evacuated to the mortuary while the injured victims were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) of Abia Command, Paul Ugwu could not be reached for comment on the accident.