No fewer than seven persons were burnt to death in Ogun State on Wednesday while seven others sustained injuries when a Mazda bus suddenly burst into flames along Odogbolu on the Sagamu-Benin expressway.
The Spokesman of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) Babatunde Akinbiyi confirmed the incident through a press statement.
He stated that the bus marked AGL 886 YD suddenly burst into flames due to engine overflow.
He added that eyewitness account and preliminary investigations indicate that the vehicle was coming from Kosofe area of Lagos inbound Epe for a church revival to usher in the new year, when the engine suddenly caught fire.
15 passengers were confirmed to be in the commercial bus, out of which seven females were burnt to death, while another seven were seriously burnt and the driver escaped.
The TRACE spokesperson said that the injured victims were taken to Ijebu Ode General Hospital for treatment.
He urged motorists to maintain and service their vehicles regularly before setting out on a journey.
On Tuesday, a commercial bus accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway claimed ten lives and injured six others.
Joshua Adekanye, Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Oyo State, verified this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan.
According to Adekanye, the lone accident occurred about 6.30 a.m. on Tuesday near the Guru Mahajji region and involved a commercial bus with registration number TRK 135 ZY and a hit-and-run vehicle carrying a container.
He claimed that the commercial bus, which was traveling overnight from Malumfashi, Kastiina State, came across a truck driving against traffic.
According to Adekanye, the bus hit the container and crashed into a ditch in try to avoid the truck, killing ten people and injuring six more, while the vehicle fled.
He stated that the overall number of people engaged in the disaster was 18, including 17 male adults and one male child.
According to the sector commander, the injured were transferred to Ibadan Central Hospital for medical attention, while the deceased were taken to Adeoyo Hospital morgue.
He stated that the police division at Ibadan’s tollgate area had seized control of the crashed vehicle.
The sector commander urged motorists to avoid driving at night and against traffic, claiming that the disaster could have been avoided if the bus had not been traveling overnight from Kastiina State.
