5th March, 2012
Nine soldiers lost their lives when an 18- seater bus plunged inside a river at Kwaita village, along Kwali- Lokoja road last Friday.
Daily Trust reports that four other persons, including two mobile policemen and two civilians sustained injuries.
They were rushed to Kwali General Hospital by a Federal Road Safety Commission’s (FRSC) rescue team from Yangoji unit command.
A witness said the accident happened at 4:13 pm, when the bus conveying the soldiers veered off the road and plunged into a river, leading to the soldiers’ death.
It was gathered that the soldiers were from Lokoja and were travelling to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital when the incident happened.
Commenting, Yangoji FRSC acting unit Commander, Hyacinth Bikut, confirmed that incident and said 13 soldiers and a driver were inside the bus that plunged into the river.
He said the corpses of the soldiers were conveyed to Lokoja Army Division after doctors at Kwali General Hospital certified them dead.
He further disclosed that seven persons were also injured on Saturday morning in another accident that occurred at Kwaita village, along the same road.
He said the accident happened at 6:45 am, when a J5 Peugeot bus with registration number XJ 465 RBC had a burst tyre and crashed into a ditch, injuring seven persons on the spot.