By Victoria Nnakaike
Fourteen people have lost their lives while 13 others sustained varying degrees of injury in an accident at Aloma community in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The accident which occurred on Sunday as a result of an head-on-collision between a Toyota Sienna bus headed towards Abuja from Port Harcourt and a Toyota Hiace bus headed for the Southern part of the country.
“The 13 persons including the driver of the Hiace Bus were completely roasted by the fire that engulfed it immediately after the head-on coalition with the Sienna bus”.
“But one out of the four surviving persons in the bus died in hospital from the burns suffered bringing the number to 14 that died.”
He added that none of the 10 occupants of the Sienna Bus died but were badly wounded and are receiving treatment in the hospital.
He noted that the injured victims were promptly rescued by the villagers who quickly came to the scene of the accident.
“It’s because of their timely intervention that the Sienna bus did not get burnt as well, ” he said.
He blamed the accident on over speeding and potholes along a bend close to Government Science Secondary School, Aloma, adding that it took rescuers 3 hours to move the driver of the Sienna bus, whose two legs were badly damaged.
When contacted, the Sector Commander, FRSC, Samuel Oyediji confirmed the incident but said he was yet to get details.
“I’m yet to be briefed by the unit commander in that axis of the true picture of the accident”, he said.
