5 children, 9 others die in Lokoja-Kabba road accident

A ghastly motor accident that occurred along the Anyingba -Ajaokuta road in Kogi State has claimed the lives of 14 people and five children.

Mr. Solomon Aghure, State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) who confirmed this to newsmen in Lokoja Friday said three vehicles, two trucks, and a passenger bus were involved in the January 14 incident.

He said the bus carried the inscription of Bright Mass Transit while the trucks belonged to a cement manufacturing company.

He said the three vehicles were traveling on the same lane towards Anyingba when a truck suddenly hit the bus from behind and the bus as a result of the impact also hit the truck in its front, PMNews Nigeria reported.

Aghure said the bus was trapped in between the two trucks with all the passengers before his men arrived at the scene to carry out a rescue operation, which lasted for hours, according to PMNews Nigeria.

He lamented that 14 out of the 23 persons involved in the accident died on the spot, while nine others sustained various degrees of injury.

The Sector Commander further explained that three men, one woman, and five children, comprising two male children and three female children were lucky as they survived the accident with some injuries.

He said the injured were taken to Holley Memorial Hospital, Ochadamu for treatment while the corpses were deposited at the morgue of Grimard Hospital, Anyingba.

Aghure attributed the accident to possible brake failure on the part of the truck that hit the bus from behind but said further investigation would be carried out to determine its actual cause.

Those who died included three female children, two male children, eight women, and one man.