19 Perish Along Gwagwalada-Lokoja Highway
By Abimbola Kintum
At least nineteen persons have been confirmed dead and eight injured following a ghastly auto crash that occurred in the early hours of Sunday along the Gwagwalada-Lokoja Highway, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
This was confirmed in a statement by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, in which he stated that the accident involved three vehicles being Toyota Hiace Buses with registration numbers MUB-30 LG, DWR-985XJ, and a Citroen trailer.
Out of the 31 victims, eight people comprising seven males and one female sustained various degrees of injuries, while the 19 others were burnt beyond recognition and their gender could not be ascertained.
According to FRSC, “the Toyota Hiace Bus with REG NO: MUB- 30 LG, which was on a high speed, crashed into a Citroen trailer on motion and immediately went into flames, thereby, burning the entire occupants of the vehicle to death.
In the same vein, the second bus also crashed into the already crashed bus from behind and caught fire.
“One of the buses was said to have transited all the way from Takai, Kano State, heading to Benin, Edo State. While the Citroen trailer loaded with chicken feed from Zaria, Kaduna State was on its way to deliver the commodities in Akwa Ibom State.
“The rescue operation was jointly carried out by the combine teams of Zebra 6 Yangoji and patrol team of the Nigeria Police Force.
“The injured persons rescued were taken to Rhema hospital, Kwali. However, the 19 corpses, which were burnt beyond recognition, were taken by rescue operatives of Zebra 6, Yangoji,” FRSC stated.
