Bloody Sallah: 11 die in Niger, 16 injured; 14 cheat death in Ondo

Bloody Sallah: 11 die in Niger, 16 injured; 14 cheat death in Ondo

Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials on duty

No fewer than 11 people were feared dead in an auto crash involving a bus, Toyota Corolla and a Hilux van on Ibeto/Kontagora Road in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger on Tuesday.

Malam Abdullahi Ibrahim, Federal Road Safety Corps Unit Commander in Charge of Kontagora, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kontagora on Tuesday.

Ibrahim said that 27 people were involved in the accident, 11 died on the spot while 16 others sustained various degrees of injuries.

He said that the bus was heading toward Kebbi, while the Toyota Corolla and Hilux were going to Kontagora.

He added that the accident was caused by wrong overtaking and speeding.

He said that bodies of the deceased were deposited at the morgue in Kontagora General Hospital, while the injured were receiving treatment in the same hospital.

The unit commander cautioned motorists against reckless driving, especially during the Sallah celebration.

In a similar development, about 14 people escaped death on Sallah day when an articulated vehicle laden with gas fell on a commercial bus on the Ore-Lagos Expressway in Ondo State.

Mr Rotimi Adeleye, the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps in the state, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure on Tuesday.

Adeleye said that the gas-laden truck  lost control and fell on a 14-seater bus  parked within the premises  of  a restaurant along the Lagos- Ore Expressway in Ore Local Government Area of the state.

“A tanker laden with gas lost control, hit the side of the bridge and fell on a 14-seater passenger bus parked within the premises of a restaurant at Ore.

“No life was lost, all the passengers in the bus were not inside the vehicle when the crash occurred.

“All the passengers had already alighted from the bus to eat in the eatery when the incident occurred.

“No explosion and no gas-leakages occurred during the crash.

“Imagine what would have happened if the truck driver did not install stock valve in his vehicle,” the sector commander said.

He, therefore, admonished truck drivers to always install stock valve in their vehicles in other to guide against  explosion or gas leakage during any crashes.