By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
No fewer than 19 persons were reported dead and eight others sustained various degrees of injuries in an auto crash which occurred over the weekend along Lokoja-Obajana road in Kogi state.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Kumar Tsukwam, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Monday.
Tsukwam said that some of the survivors sustained bruises, cuts, dislocations, fractures, and fire burns.
He said that the fatal accident occurred at Gadabiu community along the Lokoja-Obajana road in Lokoja Local Government Area of the state around 4pm on Sunday.
He revealed that among the 19 burnt to death, were five children.
According to him, the fatal and very sad accident involved an articulated vehicle (Truck) and a Toyota Hummer Bus heading to Abuja from the South.
He said that it was a head-on collision when the bus on high speed tried to overtake an articulated vehicle only to face an incoming articulated vehicle with no option.
“It was very unfortunate, because it was caused by speeding and wrongful overtaking and involved 27 persons with only eight survivors.
“Our rescue operation team and the police were able to rescue the eight survivors and rushed them to Fisayo Hospital, Obajana for immediate medical attention.
The commander said that the highways were not race roads and appealed to motorists to avoid speed and wrongful overtaking.
He also tasked motorists to always keep to traffic rules and regulations to help the corps and the federal government in reducing road traffic crashes and carnage on roads across the country
