No fewer than 10 persons have reportedly died in a ghastly motor accident along Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Enugu State.
It was gathered that the accident happened around 9am near the CBN Bus Stop, in Enugu.
A 18-seater bus with Enugu registration number, XL884 ENU had collided with a trailer truck carrying cement.
Although our correspondent could not independently ascertain the casualty figure at the time of filing this report, eyewitnesses said 10 persons died.
An eyewitness who spoke with our correspondent said the two vehicles were driving on a single lane due to potholes that have dotted the other lane of the road.
According to the eyewitnesses, Ifeanyi Ejike, said the bus was filled with commuters from Abakpa, in Enugu East Local Government Area and was heading to New Market community when the accident occurred.
Related News
“The driver whose name we have learnt is Simeon was coming from Abakpa and made attempt to overtake another vehicle in his front that was emitting too much smoke from it’s exhausts
“As he made an attempt to overtake the vehicle, the trailer was very close and the next thing we heard was a loud sound and the bus was completely damaged. I don’t know how many survived but I counted eight dead bodies on the floor,” he said.
Many others attributed the avoidable crash to the poor state of the road which has forced many motorists to ply one-way.
Men of the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Army and the Federal Road Safety Corps were on ground to control traffic and avoid any breakdown of law.
Meanwhile, victims and deceased bodies have been rushed to Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, ESUT-Parklane.
Efforts to speak with the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, on the incident were not successful as his phone was constantly busy.
He had yet to respond to a text message at the time of filing this report.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
