Anita Ogona
No fewer than four persons have reportedly died in a tragic incident at Ugwu Onyeama axis of Enugu-Onitsha Federal Highway, Enugu, Enugu State.
The accident which involved 10 vehicles both private and commercial buses happened on Tuesday evening when a truck failed break and overran so many vehicles that were stopped at military checkpoint on the road.
Confirming the incident, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says no fewer than four persons lost their lives in the tragic incident.
The Sector Commander of FRSC Enugu State Command, Mr Adeyemi Sokunbi, gave the confirmation to newsmen on Wednesday in Enugu.
Sokunbi said that the accident happened between 6:45p.m. and 7p.m. on Tuesday, June 11; adding that it involved a kerosene-led truck and six other vehicles.
He said that two persons dead instantly among the 29 persons involved in the ghastly accident even as FRSC personnel rushed to the scene of the incident.
Sokunbi, noted that the FRSC personnel had to use the corps’ Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ambulance and other vehicles to take 10 persons, who were injured to National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu.
He also said that the dead victims were taken to Park Lane Hospital, Enugu; while some items, belonging to the victims, were also recovered at the scene of the accident.
The sector commander said on a follow-up on the victims hospitalized, two persons among the 10 persons rescued to the hospital were declared dead by doctors on duty in the hospital.
According to him, the kerosene-led truck lost his break and rammed into other six vehicles, which included cars and a bus on the newly constructed section of the Enugu-Onitsha Federal Highway.
He said: “We are thanking God that the truck that failed break was not conveying petrol, which is extremely inflammable.
“Motorists, and all road users in general, have to be very careful on the road.
“We advise that all should put their vehicle in order and at an optimal performance condition before setting out on journeys.
“You cannot afford to put a mechanically deficient vehicle on the road to cause harm to many others using the same road,” he added
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