16 killed, five injured in Ondo road crash – FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says 16 people were burnt to death and five others injured in a road accident on Tuesday night in Ondo State.

On Wednesday, the State Sector Commander of FRSC, Samuel Ibitoye, confirmed the accident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Mr Ibitoye said the accident happened at Ajue village, between Ondo and Ore, in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, two vehicles, a commercial Toyota Hiace bus and a Man Diesel truck, were involved in the accident at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

The FRSC boss said the fully loaded bus was coming from Lagos and heading to the northern part of the country.

He said it took the FRSC about four hours to clear the road.

Mr Ibitoye attributed the accident to excessive speeding and wrongful overtaking, adding that one of the vehicles might have been carrying fuel.

“Three male adults were seriously injured, two had minor injuries, and 16 people were burnt beyond recognition.

“Though investigation on the cause of the accident has not been concluded, preliminary investigation indicated high speeding, wrongful overtake and, possibly, one of them carried fuel inside the vehicle.

“Meanwhile, the injured ones have been taken to Ore General Hospital for treatment, while the corpses have been released to the Hausa Community in the area for possible burial this morning,’’ he said.

He appealed to motorists to shun speeding and observe all rules and regulations of the road.

“And they should not carry fuel inside their vehicles because when there is a crash, the fuel explodes and burns everybody badly,” he said. (NAN)