Tragedy strikes, as 14 people burnt to death in road accident

An accident involving a fully loaded tanker and a truck has left 14 people burnt beyond recognition and 14 others with various degrees of injuries on Ogbomoso-Jebba Road.

The truck, which was loaded with cattle and passengers was reportedly coming from a northern state, while the tanker was believed to be heading towards the opposite direction when the collision occured.

Kwara State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Mary Wakawa, confirmed the incident, saying it happened in the early hours of the Wednesday, 12 November.

She said, “One of the heavy duty vehicles veered off its lane and collided with the other. This was around 5am. Both vehicles went up in flame. 13 people died on the spot while one died in the hospital. We rushed 14 injured passengers with severe burns to University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, UITH. Already, with the support of the Kwara State Transport Management Agency, KWTMA, we had evacuated the wreck.”

Wakawa cautioned road users against excessive speeding, night driving and driving exhaustion, adding that 13 charred bodies of the victims had been given mass burial.

“Our drivers should stop long driving at night. They need rest to avoid human errors on the roads.”