30th August, 2012
Thirteen of the 21 passengers trapped in a motor accident that occurred along the busy but narrow Benin-Auchi road, have been confirmed dead.
Two other buses said to be travelling on top speed also ran into the vehicles at the accident scene.
It was a tragic situation at the scene of the accident as human parts were seen trapped in the wreckage of the buses involved in the accident.
A 14-seater bus travelling from Benin allegedly collided with a fully loaded articulated truck coming from the Auchi end after the truck apparently lost control.
Edo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Ken Nwaegbe who confirmed the death of 13 commuters in the ill-fated buses, also confirmed the evacuation of six other passengers who were rushed to hospital for treatment.
A bus driver who identified himself simply as Osayande, said he was in the opposite direction with the truck, but he quickly veered off the highway when he suspected that the truck might have had brake failure as it was moving in a zigzag manner, adding that the truck crashed into the bus that was following him.
“When I saw the way the trailer was moving on the road, my mind was telling me that it might come straight at me, so I quickly veered off the road. The next thing I saw was the trailer crashing into the bus behind mine,” Osayande said.
Sympathisers at the scene of the accident blamed the incessant accident on the Benin/Abuja highway on the nature of the road which they said was too narrow.
They called on the concerned authorities to urgently do something about it as it is the only gateway to the northern part of the country from Benin.
—Jethro Ibileke/Benin