Nineteen road commuters have been confirmed dead in an accident that took place on Yangoji-Gwagwalada road in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It was gathered that the accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday. This is coming less than a month after when Tribune Online reported about an accident in the same axis which claimed nine lives, while 10 others sustained various degrees of injuries.
Dauda Biu, acting corps marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the development when he visited the accident scene. Biu said the crash involved three vehicles — two Toyota Hiace buses and an articulated vehicle.
He said: “Out of the 31 victims, eight persons comprising seven males and one female sustained various degrees of injuries, while 19 others were burnt beyond recognition.
“Investigation showed that the main causes of the crash were speed limit violation and wrongful overtaking, which eventually resulted in the loss of control.
“The Toyota Hiace bus, with registration number MUB- 30 LG, crashed into the Citroen articulated vehicle and burst into flames, killing everyone on board.
“The second bus hit the first bus from behind and also caught fire. The fire melted the second bus with the Bauchi Dtate number plate. It was coming from Takai, Kano State while heading to Benin.
“The Citroen vehicle loaded chicken feed from Zaria in Kaduna state and was heading to Akwa Ibom.
“The nineteen corpses were trapped but extricated by rescue operatives,” he stated.
Biu disclosed that the police had taken over the investigation and met with relevant authorities for the mass burial of 18 of the victims, who could not be preserved for identification as they were “burnt beyond recognition.”
“Clearing obstructions for free flow of traffic is ongoing as you can see and we will do our best to ensure we have a crash-free society.
“Injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital in Kwali in the FCT and one identified male corpse was deposited at the mortuary at Kwali General Hospital,” he further stated.
Biu cautioned road users to always avoid excessive speeding, wrongful overtaking and other bad driving behaviours. He also advised commuters to shun night trips and travel in the daytime because of hazards associated with night trips.
As at the time of filing the report, efforts to reach the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh, to shed more light on the sad incident proved abortive.