Seven Killed, Five Injured in Motor Accident in Bauchi

Tragedy struck Thursday as seven persons were burnt beyond recognition, while five others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a fatal multiple motor accident along Durum village in Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

THISDAY gathered that the accident, which occurred around 12.50 p.m., involved two commercial Vectra Opel vehicles with registration numbers AE 609 NNG, AA 698 and a Sharon station wagon.

According to an eyewitness, the accident happened when one of the drivers of the Vectra vehicle got stuck at the middle of the road because the steering of the car got locked.

The eyewitness said: “The accident occurred, when the driver of one of the Vectra vehicles got stuck in the middle of the road because his steering got locked. As the driver was trying to get the vehicle off the road, one Sharon station wagon on top speed which was heading to Kano State collided with the Opel Vectra vehicle and bust into flames. Another Opel Vectra vehicle which was coming behind the Sharon bus also ran into the fire.”

Confirming the incident to THISDAY, the state Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Henry Sunday Olatunji, said out 12 persons who were involved in the crash, seven persons lost their lives, while five sustained various degrees of injuries.

He said when FRSC officers from the state command got the information, they went to scene of the incident and evacuated all the corpses and the injured persons to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBU).

Olatunji, who disclosed that it was difficult to identify the relatives of the deceased persons in the Sharon bus because it was not registered in a commercial park, warned passengers against entering road-side commercial vehicles.