19 passengers burnt to death in Okene bypass auto crash

 

 

Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt with agency reports

 

The Federal Road Safety’s Corps (FRSC) said 19 persons were killed in a bloody auto crash on Sunday, April 28, at Okene bypass, on the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.

FRSC spokesperson, ACM Jonas Agwu, said the agency’s emergency rescue teams deployed to rescue the victims could not achieve desired results after three hours rescue attempts as the efforts they put into the rescue operations were unduly hindered by the fire inferno that engulfed the affected two vehicles.

The crash investigation report revealed that the crash involved two vehicles comprising a Dangote Truck bearing the registration details: NSH680YJ, and a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number KMC455ZE.

The Toyota Hiace Bus loaded from Kano State was on its lane on the highway when the Dangote Truck driver, who drove all the way from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, wrongfully overtook a vehicle and collided head-on with the bus.

The impact of the collision resulted in a fire inferno that burnt the victims to death.

According to the report, the crash, which was caused by route violation – ‘One Way’ and wrongful overtaking – involved 22 people all male.

“Unfortunately, 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and one injured. The remaining two victims who got rescued by FRSC operatives without injuries survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on compulsory use of seatbelt.

“The corpses of the dead victims whose lives were claimed by the crash have been deposited at Okene General Hospital,” the FRSC spokesman stated.

It would be recalled that the Corps Marshal of the FRSC had during his press briefing recently drew the attention of road users to issues of imbibing moral and ethical rebirth, which have become a major issue in the country.

He warned against traffic violations, citing instances where they resulted in avoidable crashes with fire outbreak, leading to wanton loss of precious lives and destruction to properties.

In a another development, President Bola Tinubu extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the fire incident caused by an articulated vehicle conveying petroleum product at the Eleme section of the East-West Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Commiserating with the government and people of Rivers State on this tragedy, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and property, President Tinubu prays for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident.

The President directs federal agencies in the state to continue liaising with the state government to provide the much-needed immediate support to all victims of the incident.

The President commends the first responders in Rivers state for their bravery and dedication in assisting those affected by the accident, and expresses confidence that stricter safety regulations for the transportation of petroleum products will be implemented to prevent such tragedies in the future

Also, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, said the state is sad over the fire incident which burnt about 5 persons and about 120 vehicles beyond recognition and destroyed properties worth billions of naira.

 

The accident, we learnt, occurred when a tanker conveying premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol was trying to navigate one of the many bad spots along the Eleme axis of the East-West road, ran into a truck spilling its contents on the sloppy road and causing a huge explosion.

The incident occurred between Indorama Gate and Aleto Bridge on the popular and ever busy Eleme section of the East-West Road now undergoing major reconstruction by the Federal Government.

Governor Fubara expressed his sadness at the gory sights that he saw when he visited the scene of the incident, accompanied by the State Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu, and the State Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Uchechukwu Nwafor.

 

The Governor commiserated with those who lost their loved ones and others whose vehicles and properties were burnt, adding that the State government mourns and grieves with them.

 

Describing the incident as a sad episode and unfortunate situation that caused the state a devastating loss, the governor promised that the state government will cushion the effects of the accident on the bereaved families.

 

Governor Fubara said: “We are here to see for ourselves and get a first hand information of the incident of what happened yesterday night. we got information of the gravity of the incident at about 7:30 – 8pm.

 

“From what we saw this morning, it was not a pleasant case. We recorded a huge number of vehicles being destroyed and lives lost. I can tell you, I’ve not been happy since then. With all the dramas in our State, it is not even proper for us to add that to it.

 

“But it wasn’t our fault. It was just what impatience caused. The tanker driver, knowing the state of that road was not patient, and it resulted in that colossal loss. Over 120 vehicles were completely  burnt and five lives were lost. It was very unfortunate.”

 

The Rivers State Commissioner Police, CP Olatunji Disu also commiserated with families that lost their loved ones, and residents who lost their properties worth billions on naira in the inferno, describing the incident as unfortunate and sad.

 

 

 

An eyewitness, Mr Bariboma who narrowly escaped the incident last night however told newsmen that casualties were more than a dozen as many drivers and passengers were stuck in their vehicles when the tanker exploded.