No fewer than 16 passengers were killed on Friday morning in a ghastly road crash at Aku village near Osara, along the Lokoja-Okene highway in Kogi State, while five others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The accident occurred when a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Jos, Plateau State, to Lagos reportedly veered off the road while approaching a bridge and plunged into a ditch, killing 16 occupants on the spot.
Confirming the incident, the Kogi Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lawal Fagge, said it was a lone crash that occurred in the early hours of the day at the Osara axis of the Lokoja-Okene road.
He attributed the cause of the crash to fatigue and over-speeding on the part of the driver.
Fagge noted that rescue teams from the FRSC Zariagi Unit were deployed to the scene to evacuate victims and clear the wreckage shortly after the report was received.
“The Toyota bus was on its way to Lagos from Jos; 22 passengers were on board in an 18-seater bus; 16 died on the spot; 5 sustained serious injuries, while 1 came out unscathed.
“A survivor told us that on their way coming, they warned the driver to stop, pack and rest briefly when they sensed he was burdened with fatigue; but he refused, and drove on until he crashed at bridge on the highway.
“The five injured passengers have been evacuated to a Lokoja hospital for treatment while the dead bodies have been deposited at Ankuri mortuary, Lokoja,” said Fagge.
He urged motorists and other road users to remain safety conscious, observe speed limits and avoid driving under fatigue in order to prevent avoidable road crashes.
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