New Telegraph

Early morning auto accident claims 9 lives in Edo

It was a fatal Tuesday for residents of Sokponba Road, Benin City, Edo State capital, as an early morning motor accident claimed the lives of not fewer than nine persons. It was gathered from eyewitnesses that the accident occurred at Ogbelaka Junction, when a tipper, loaded with sand, collided with two minibuses, which were conveying commuters.

 

But for divine intervention, the eyewitnesses said that the fatality rate would have been more as the Bureau de Change operators, along the axis by Erie Junction, had to scamper for safety, when   vehicles, trying to avoid the scene, almost crushed them.

 

According to eyewitness account, the tipper truck involved in the accident was trying to overtake another tipper, but lost control and collided with the two minibuses, killing many of the passengers on the spot.

 

A sister-in-law of one of the deceased, who gave her name as Agnes agonizingly said her late sister-in-law, was taking care of her mother at the Edo Specialist Hospital, but this morning,  the woman went home to shower and change, on the way the accident happened.

 

She was rushed to the same hospital, but was not attended to. The accident caused traffic jam as the exit routes to Asoro Street, Eri and Ogbelaka were completely blocked, leaving commuters to trek long distances to their destinations.

 

While witnesses claimed to have counted nine corpses at the scene, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Bello Kontongs  when contacted, said only four persons died in the accident.

 

“It involved a truck coming from upper Sakponba that lost control and ran into a white bus killing three people on the spot while one died on the way to the hospital. The injured victims have been rushed to the hospital for treatment,” Kontongs volunteered.

Read Previous

Alleged N2.5bn fraud: Amosun’s aide drags Ogun Assembly to court

Read Next

Buhari seeks amendment to Petroleum Industry Act

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *