9th March, 2022
By Jethro Ibileke
No fewer than six people were confirmed dead and 16 others injured in the early morning crash on Wednesday, when a lorry conveying cement lost control and rammed into several stores in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.
It was gathered that the ill-fated vehicle which was coming from the popular Up-garage area of the polytechnic town, was descending the hill when it suddenly had break failure and the driver lost control in the process.
A source in the town who gave his name as Mr. Sani Aliu, said he was in company of friends at the nearby Inu Umoru Street when he heard the loud noise of the crash, popularly referred to as Igbo Shade.
He added that the vehicle smashed into many shops, killing several people and destroying goods worth several millions of naira.
Sani said that sympathizers have been making frantic efforts to pull out corpses from the rubbles of the collapsed buildings and under the chassis of the vehicle.
He said several people, who were injured in the accident, had been rushed to different public and private hospitals in Auchi and neighbouring Jattu for treatment.
According to him, “Auchi is in deep mourning. Early this morning, the driver of a trailer conveying cement lost control as a result of break failure and crashed into the popular Igbo Shade, killing several persons which included traders and buyers.”
Confirming the sad incident, an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, who did not mention his name, said six persons, all males died in the accident while 16 others who sustained vary degrees of injuries have been taken to the hospitals for treatments.