Fourteen people reportedly lost their lives on Wednesday when a fully loaded tanker and a truck collided on the Ogbomoso-Jebba Express Road, Ilorin axis.
The accident occurred when a truck said to be fully loaded with cattle and passengers allegedly coming from one of the northern states collided with a fuel laden tank coming from the opposite direction, ThisDay reports.
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The Kwara State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mary Wakawa, who confirmed the tragedy, said fourteen passengers were burnt beyond recognition, while 14 others sustained various degrees of injuries.
“One of the heavy duty vehicles veered off its lane and collided with the other. Both vehicles went up in flame, 13 died on the spot, while one later died in the hospital. We rushed 14 injured passengers with severe burns to University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH). Already, with the support of the Kwara State Transport Management Agency (KWTMA), we had evacuated the wreckage,” Wakawa said.
The FRSC sector commander, who went ahead to warn road users against over speeding, night driving and driving when exhausted, revealed that 13 burnt corpses of the victims were instantly given mass burial.Wakawa blamed the crash on exhaustion on the part of the driver, and warned drivers to stop long driving overnight insisting that they need rest to avoid human errors on the roads.
Speaking on this year’s edition of ‘Road Traffic Crash Victims Remembrance Week’ in Ilorin, she hinted that the figure of road traffic accident in the country remains high, adding that 160 to 10,000 accidents are still recorded and further revealed that the speed control mechanism already prepared to regulate speed on the nation’s road would soon be in operational.
The FRSC boss said Rescue Officers have been trained by the commission and attached to transport organisations with fleet of vehicles in the country, in order to create more rescuing methods during road traffic accidents on the high way.
She also stated that FRSC has infiltrated renowned registered driving schools in the state with proper driving teaching aids in other to enhance the production of quality drivers for Nigeria.
Wakawa, while reacting to the recent killing of two FRSC personnel in the state, she said: “right now some of our officers are undergoing training on how to handle arms. The new corps marshal has taken the bull by the horn on this issue.”
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The sector commander, who used the medium to announce the remembrance week, said, there would be a commemorative service on Friday at the late Gen Abdulkareem Adisa Mosque by the staff of the RS8.1.
She said officials would on the same day visit the UITH to donate funds and medicals items to victims of road crash who are on admission while the grand finale of the event is expected to end with a church service on Sunday at Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Sabo-Oke.
Meanwhile, tragedy also struck at Bode-Saadu, headquarters of Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State when no fewer than 20 people were feared dead in an inferno involving a fuel-laden truck.
Source:Naij.com
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