No fewer than seven persons were burnt beyond recognition while seven others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a lone accident, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon when a commercial bus went up in flames in the Ogun State corridor of the ever-busy Sagamu-Ore-Benin Expressway.
The lone accident, which occurred few metres before the Odogbolu junction of the expressway, in-bound Ijebu Ode, involved a Mazda passengers bus with registration number (LAGOS) AGL 886 YD.
The vehicle went up in flames while on motion.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the Epe-bound ill-fated vehicle conveying members of a yet-to-be-identified church had developed an engine problem and consequently causing a sudden outbreak of fire that engulfed the bus.
The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, who confirmed the incident to LEADERSHIP on Wednesday, explained that victims of the crash, who were all females, were traveling for a church programme to usher in the New Year before the incident occurred.
Akinbiyi stated further that the injured victims, as well as carcasses of the deceased victims have been evacuated by the combined team of personnel of his agency and that of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to the General Hospital in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, for treatment, while the accidented Mazda bus was also taken to the Odogbolu Motor Traffic Division of the Police.
“While TRACE commiserate with the families of the deceased and also wish the injured speedy recovery, motorists are urged to maintain and service their vehicles regularly, in addition to carrying out daily routine check on the vehicle correct any anomaly before setting out on a journey,” he stated.
