Sallah: 11 passengers die, 8 injured as truck rams into mini bus in Edo

At least eleven persons on Thursday died while eight others sustained injuries in a ghastly accident that happened on the Edo State section of the Benin-Lagos expressway involving a Toyota Hiace 18 seater bus and a truck.

Daily Champion  gathered that the accident occurred around 11 am at the Ovia River notorious for accidents due to a failed section of the road and the bridge by the river.

It was also gathered that the truck heading towards Benin from Lagos on top speed rammed into the bus that was said to have slowed down at the failed portion of the road after brushing the back side of a Kia-made vehicle killing 11 persons on the spot and injuring several others.

An eye witness said the “Toyota Hiace bus going to the East en route Edo state slowed down at the bad portion of the Ovia river bridge but the truck that was on top speed rammed into the bus, killing the passengers”

It was gathered that some of the occupants of the bus and victims were coming from Lagos after attending a programme organized by a popular Lagos-based church

The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Paul Okpe who confirmed the accident, said “We had a crash on the bridge at Ovia River this morning. A truck ran into a Toyota Hummer Bus and the casualty is 11 persons lost their lives, very unfortunate and eight persons injured.

“Both the dead and the injured were moved to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) by our ambulances and three vehicles were involved.

“The truck ran into the Hummer but before hitting the Hummer bus, it narrowly missed a small Kia vehicle. The three vehicles are in the police station not far from our office at the Toll Gate.

“For the possible cause, we are leaving that to our Accident Investigations to establish, but it was the truck that ran into the vehicles and the casualties were in the bus,” he said.