12 Dead, Many Injured In Akwa Ibom Road Crash

No fewer than 12 persons have been reported dead while others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a fatal road accident at the weekend involving a passenger bus and a private car.

The incident occurred late Friday evening hours along the Iwukem village portion of the Afahaobong (Abak LGA) – Iwukem (Etim Ekpo LGA) highway, leading to either Aba, Abia State or Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to an eyewitness from the neighbouring Udianga Enem village, Idara Marcus, the Hummer bus was conveying passengers from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital to Port Harcourt, when it collided with a private Toyota car, ferrying some university students to their campus.

Idara told our correspondent that the incident happened at the Usung Atai axis of the single-lane route, adding that the two collided while trying to avoid a bad portion of the road.

The white-coloured bus has an inscription, “Delking Motors” with registration number; NDN 419 Y, while the other car was totally wrecked with the registration number not properly identified.

“There’s a very bad portion of the road between Ikot Agwak and Iwukem villages. Both vehicles were obviously on top speed, but suddenly rammed into each other head on.

“It was in the middle of anxiety trying to avoid the open ditch but couldn’t navigate out that led to the two vehicles colliding along what drivers believed was the safer side, but oblivious of the upcoming vehicle on the same lane,” he explained.

According to him, five people died in the Hummer bus, while all the four occupants of the private car lost their lives, while three others in the bus later died in the hospital, adding that those fatally wounded including the driver of the Hummer bus, who were fatally wounded, were currently receiving treatments at the General Hospital in Etim Ekpo LGA.