17 travellers burnt to death in Nasarawa road accident

At least 17 persons have been burnt to death in a road accident in the Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The accident involving a commercial and private vehicle occurred on Saturday night along the highway between Akwanga and Gudi community.

The Federal Roads Safety Corps, in a statement on Sunday, disclosed that the travellers were burnt beyond recognition.

FRSC Unit Commander in Akwanga, Ebere Onyegbaduo, said, “We received a distress call of a ghastly accident by 7pm around “Ahead Town” between Akwanga and Gudi Towns.

“We rushed to the scene and found a VW Sharon commercial bus and a Toyota Sienna private bus engulfed in flames with the occupants inside the burning vehicles.

“We called for the Fire Brigade. The fire was contained by 11pm and we completed the rescue by 2am.”

It was learnt that the Sharon bus was overtaking on a hill at a dangerous bend shortly after the vehicle ran into the Toyota Sienna bus.

The two vehicles went up into flames after a head-on collision leading to the death of the 17 travellers.

The FRSC noted that the remains of the deceased in Sharon bus had been deposited at the Akwanga General Hospital while those in the private vehicle were taken to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, the state capital.

A high number of accidents have been recorded along the Akwanga-Lafiya Highway over the years, resulting in loss of numerous lives.

A popular hill called ‘many have gone’ is found along the expressway.

The road links the North to the South-East region of the country and many have called for the expansion of the highway.