Nine passengers were yesterday burnt to death in an accident involving a Toyota Hiace commercial bus at Ijebu-Ife, along Sagamu-Benin expressway, Ogun State.
The bus was conveying 19 passengers and heading to Lagos from the eastern part of the country when the accident occurred at about 3:20p.m. on Thursday.
According to the Ogun State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Clement Oladele, who confirmed the accident to journalists, the vehicle’s fuel tank had developed fault while on transit, but the driver had tied the malfunctioning tank with a rope.
The tank reportedly detached from the vehicle while on motion, sparked off and went up in flames.
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Oladele said nine persons died including two children, while 10 of the passengers were rescued, out of which three of them sustained injuries.
His words: “Preliminary investigation by the FRSC Crash Investigator revealed that the vehicle while on transit suffered malfunctioning and had to stop intermittently at several times to repair faulty fuel pump and fuel tank, which they kept on managing by tying ropes to support the malfunctioned fuel tank.
“The driver hoped he could manage the vehicle to Lagos, but it suddenly sparked and engulfed in fire while on motion. The unidentified flammable substances conveyed in the bus assisted to intensify the inferno. After the fire was extinguished by the Nigeria Fire Service, a total of nine persons, consisting of seven adults and two children were confirmed dead,” he said.
Oladele implored motorists to adhere strictly to the 1947 United Nations Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) to prevent this type of avoidable crash.
He said the injured victims were rescued to ROONA Hospital, Ijebu Ode, for immediate medical attention, while the deceased were deposited at same hospital morgue.
