The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said 19 persons were killed in a fatal road crash on Sunday, April 28, 2024, at Okene bypass, on the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.
FRSC spokesperson, ACM Jonas Agwu, said the agency’s emergency rescue teams deployed to rescue the victims could not achieve desired results after three hours rescue attempts as the efforts they put into the rescue operations were unduly hindered by the fire inferno that engulfed the affected two vehicles.
The crash investigation report revealed that the crash involved two vehicles comprising a Dangote Truck bearing the registration details: NSH680YJ, and a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number KMC455ZE.
The Toyota Hiace Bus loaded from Kano State was on its lane on the highway when the Dangote Truck driver, who drove all the way from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, wrongfully overtook a vehicle and collided head-on with the bus. The impact of the collision resulted in a fire inferno that burnt the victims to death.
According to the report, the crash, which was caused by route violation – ‘One Way’ and wrongful overtaking – involved 22 people all male.
“Unfortunately, 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and one injured. The remaining two victims who got rescued by FRSC operatives without injuries survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on compulsory use of seatbelt.
“The corpses of the dead victims whose lives were claimed by the crash have been deposited at Okene General Hospital,” the FRSC spokesman stated.
Recall that the corps marshal of the FRSC had during his press conference earleir Thursday last week drew the attention of road users to issues of imbibing moral and ethical rebirth, which have become a major issue in the country.
He warned against traffic violations, citing instances where they resulted in avoidable crashes with fire outbreak, leading to wanton loss of precious lives and destruction to properties.
