20 burnt to death in Ondo auto crash

OVER 20 passengers reportedly died in a ghastly auto-crash along Epinmi and Isua road in Akoko South East Local Government Area of Ondo State. They were burnt to death beyond recognition.

The accident, according to reliable source, occurred yesterday when a 14-passenger Toyota Hiace bus had an headlong collision with a Range Rover SUV, and caught fire on the spot.

“One of the vehicles’ driver was overtaking another vehicle along the road when it collided with the other coming from the opposite direction,” the source said. He, however, noted that the drivers of the two vehicles survived the accident but sustained various degrees of injuries, receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

Theguardian gathered that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) unit in Ikare Akoko promptly rushed to the scene of the accident to rescue the victims. It was learnt that the bodies had

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been deposited at the morgue of Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Ikare Akoko.

While the state FRSC Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mrs. Antonia Oni, when contacted, said she could not confirm the accident immediately because she was out of the state on an official duty, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph, confirmed the accident, attributing it to the reckless driving of the vehicles involved.

“It was a sad day, 15 people initially died in the fire, they were burnt beyond recognition while five others died on the way to the hospital. We can also confirmed that the accident occurred as a result of reckless driving,” Joseph said.

An eyewitness said the SUV, a ‘ Tokunbo’ vehicle, which was driven by a military man, wrongly overtook a vehicle along the ever busy Epinmi-isua-abuja road. A community leader and Chief Imam of EpinmiAkoko, Alhaji Maliki Alimi, lamented the incessant road carnage along the same route in recent time.