At least five persons that included two infants have so far been confirmed dead, while 10 others sustained varying degrees of life-threatening injuries in a lone accident, which occured Thursday morning along the Abeokuta-Sango Ota-Oshodi expressway in Ogun State.
The lone accident, which happened at the Iyana Egbado Village, in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of the the State, involved a white Mazda E2000 commercial passenger bus with registration plate number: LAGOS KRD 809 XC, which somersaulted into the bush and consequently went up in flames.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the ill-fated passenger bus was conveying a total of 20 people, comprising of six male adults; 11 female adults; a male child and two female children to a yet-to-be-ascertained destination.
The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State Sector Command, Afolabi Odunsi, who confirmed the crash to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, explained that the unfortunate incident occurred at about 11:12a.m., which compelled the rescue team of the command to race to the scene of the lone fatal crash without delay.
“Out of the twenty persons involved, five (5) persons were killed, comprising one adult male, two adult females, one male child, and one female child. 10 persons sustained varying degrees of injuries, while five (5) persons escaped unhurt,” Odunsi stated.
Similarly, pictures taken at the scene of the accident and made available to journalists by the Public Relations Officer of the state’s Traffic Regulations and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, clearly indicated that the deceased victims of the crash were burnt beyond recognition.
Commenting of the possible cause of the fatal accident, FRSC’s Odunsi said preliminary investigation revealed that the crash was caused by speed violation and overloading, stressing that the weather condition as at the time of the incident was cloudy.
Odunsi, however, disclosed that the 10 injured victims were immediately evacuated to the State Hospital in Ifo and another private Specialist Hospital in Itori for prompt medical attention, while the corpses of the deceased victims were deposited at the morgue of the State Hospital in Ifo.
“The Ogun State Sector Commander, Corps Commander Oludare Ogunjobi, sympathizes with the families of the victims and urges motorists to avoid speeding, overloading, and all forms of traffic violations capable of endangering lives.
“The Sector Commander CC Oludare Ogunjobi further advised drivers to ensure strict compliance with traffic rules and regulations, especially during this festive period, stressing that road safety is a shared responsibility,” the FRSC spokesman stated.
