Five dead, many injured in Edo road crash

Five passengers lost their lives and several others were injured in a road crash that occurred on Thursday along the Benin-Ekpoma-Abuja Road in Edo State.

The accident, which occurred around 11.30 am near Obagie community in the Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of the state, involved an 18-passenger commercial bus, an articulated vehicle and a Toyota Sienna.

It was gathered that the bus was heading for Ekpoma and was trying to avoid a pothole when it suddenly had a head-on collision with an oncoming a truck laden with baskets of tomatoes.

A passenger, who was in the Toyota Sienna, stated that their vehicle narrowly escaped the carnage.

He explained that following the crash, the bus fell on the driver’s side, while the Sienna rammed into it.

The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr Henry Benemesia, confirmed the crash.

“A team from the sector command was deployed in the scene for rescue operations and it reported that four passengers died, while several others were injured,” he stated.

The command attributed the crash to excessive speeding and dangerous overtaking on the part of the driver of the commercial bus.