Death toll rises to 17 in Enugu-Nsukka lone accident, reports FRSC

The death toll in the Enugu-Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road lone accident has risen from 15 to 17 persons as of Wednesday, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Police Command in Enugu State confirmed 16 passengers were burnt beyond recognition in a fatal accident involving a commercial bus along Enugu-Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road on Tuesday.

The Sector Commander of FRSC in Enugu State, Adeyemi Sokunbi, confirmed the death of one of the surviving two persons involved in the accident on Wednesday in Enugu.

Mr Sokunbi said that doctors at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu, where the two survivors were rushed to by the FRSC officers, confirmed the death of one of the accident victims.

“The remaining surviving passenger, who had 64 per cent fire burn injury, is stable and responding to treatment.

“FRSC officials are on ground and we have kept a close attention on him even as we pray that the Almighty God grant him quick recovery,” he said.

The sector commander said that the FRSC had taken the deceased to the morgue while trying to make contact the families and friends of those affected in the unfortunate incident.

According to him, from the sketchy information he has received so far about the commercial bus, it is likely that it was heading to the northern part of the country, probably to Abuja or Kaduna.

Mr Sokunbi said: “I am making a passionate appeal, which the FRSC management has been making for years now, for our people to avoid all forms of night travel.

“As drivers on the wheel and even passengers being conveyed, we should not over-speed, and we all have the responsibility to put the driver in check when he over speeds.”

A witness who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the commercial bus, which was driven at high speed, lost control, rammed into the fence of Maduka University, Ekwegbe, located on the road, and burst into flames.

(NAN)