16 die in Ibadan road crash

16 die in Ibadan road crash

10 January 2011

published by thenationonlineng.net


Nigeria — SIXTEEN people were burnt to death on Saturday night when two commercial buses collided on the Ibadan–Abeokuta Expressway.

Sympathisers wailed over the death of the passengers, who were burnt beyond recognition.

The victims included some students of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAB), women and children.

Eyewitnesses said the accident might have been caused by bush burning, which affected the sight of the drivers.

Some of the sympathisers wept profusely, condemning those who set the bush on fire.

They urged the Federal Government to enact a law against bush burning on expressways.

One of the buses took off from Omi-Adio, Ibadan, and heading to Kila market in Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun State. The other bus was from Abeokuta, with full passengers.

The two buses were said to have skidded off the road after the head-on and somersaulted to the other side of the expressway, where they burst into flames.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Oyo State Fire Service battled to remove the burnt bodies.

Four persons, including a three-year-old boy, were reportedly rescued.

The survivors were rushed to the University College Hospital (UCH) by officials of the FRSC.

Men of the fire service, who later arrived the scene, had a hectic time putting off the fire. There was traffic congestion for hours on the road.

A Police Inspector Sesan Kayode, from Apata Police Division, Ibadan, led a team of policemen to the scene.

He said: “We received a distress call from some of the commercial motor drivers plying the route, informing us that some persons were trapped in vehicles which went up in flames after the accident.

“Two of us hurriedly went to inform officials of FRSC; others went to the fire service station at Aleshinloye Market, Ibadan, because of the intensity of the fire. They rescued four of the trapped victims.”
 


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