19 passengers burnt to death in Okene Bypass accident, FRSC blames traffic violation

FRSC blames traffic violation as 19 passengers burnt to death in Okene Bypass accident

A total of 19 people were burnt to death in a tanker-bus collision on Sunday April 28 on Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.

The collision that specifically occurred on Okene Bypass reportedly led to an explosion, trapping a total of 22 passengers in the inferno.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in a statement which gave these details said the crash was largely caused by traffic rules violation.

It added that its emergency rescue team deployed in the area battled the situation for three hours.

Part of statement read, “The crash investigation report revealed that the crash involved two vehicles comprising a Dangote truck bearing the following registration details NSH680YJ, and a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number KMC455ZE.

“The Toyota Hiace bus loaded from Kano was on its lane on the highway when the Dangote truck driver who drove all the way from Port Harcourt wrongfully overtook a vehicle and collided head-on with the bus.

“The impact of the collision resulted in a fire inferno that burnt the victims to death.

According to the report, the crash which was caused by route violation ‘One-way’ and wrongful overtaking, involved 22 people all male.

“Unfortunately, 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and one injured.

“The remaining two victims who got rescued by the FRSC operatives without injuries survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on compulsory use of seatbelt.

“The corpses of the dead victims have been deposited at Okene General Hospital.

The statement signed by the FRSC spokesman, Jonas Agwu, an Assistant Corps Marshal, recalled that the Corps Marshal of the commission, Dauda Biu, at a press conference last week Thursday “warned against traffic violations citing instances where they resulted in avoidable crashes with fire outbreak, leading to wanton loss of precious lives and destruction to properties.

“As a result of that he had earlier emphasised on the need for maximum penalty for these drivers.

Dauda Biu reaffirmed the resolution of the Corps to continue its ongoing prosecution of drivers who by their actions cause road traffic crashes in Nigeria, noting that the driver of the truck involved in the Okene crash will not be an exception.

“As such, he called on the judiciary, leadership of transport unions and other relevant stakeholders in the road transportation sector to join hands with the Corps towards restoring sanity through speedy and effective prosecution.”