No fewer than 20 people were confirmed dead on Sunday in two road crashes in Ondo and Lagos states.
While 11 people lost their lives at Ore town along the Benin-Sagamu Expressway in the Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, nine died at Ojuelegba, Surulere, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the Ondo crash involved a commercial Marcopolo bus and a truck.
The victims were reportedly burnt beyond recognition.
A driver, who was at the scene of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two vehicles collided and later caught fire.
He explained that the crash happened as motorists diverted from one side of the dualised expressway to the other side due to a faulty truck that blocked the road.
He said, “Motorists and commuters were taking one side of the expressway because a truck fell and blocked the other side of the road. For the past three days, vehicles heading towards Benin had been taking one way because the truck blocked their way and there was nobody to clear it off the road. For the past three days, it has been like that.
“The bus was coming from Benin and heading towards Lagos; it dropped some passengers at Ore. The bus then collided with the truck and caught fire around 6am today (Sunday).”
The Ondo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Ezekiel Son’Allah, confirmed the accident, adding that it occurred as a result of speeding on the part of the truck and bus drivers.
He said, “Eleven people were burnt to death in the crash which was caused by road traffic and speed violations.”
In the Lagos accident, nine persons were confirmed dead and one person was rescued alive after a truck conveying a 20-foot container fell on a commercial minibus at Ojuelegba in the Surulere area of the state.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred around 12.45pm when the minibus, with number plate KTU921YG, stopped to pick up some passengers.
The passengers were said to have boarded the bus, which was ready to move when the truck, which was also trying to ascend the bridge, lost control, fell on its side and crushed the minibus.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the incident in a statement.
He said, “Upon arrival at the scene, a truck conveying a 20-foot container was found to have landed on top of a commercial bus. Further investigations revealed that the bus was picking up passengers when the truck lost control and fell over the side of the bridge.
“After suspending the container load with the aid of the agency’s forklift and cutting off the top of the bus with light rescue equipment, a single adult woman was extricated alive and taken to the trauma centre.
“Final casualty count is nine fatalities comprising four adult males, three adult females, a boy child, and a girl child. One adult female was rescued alive.
“The agency’s heavy-duty Goliath and teams from Onipan and Cappa are on ground. The agency’s ambulance, LASG fire, federal fire, LASTMA, and the Nigeria Police have been working on this situation, which is now concluded.”
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, said officials of the agency rescued the survivor and handed her over to emergency responders.
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