No less than 13 passengers were burnt beyond recognition in an accident involving a cement truck and a passenger bus at Obajana market, Kogi state.
Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Samuel Oyedeji, who confirmed the incident, said the accident occurred at about 7:30 pm on Sunday when truck rammed into a parked Sharon Bus that is enroute Abuja with passengers.
He added that two other persons were critically injured in the accident.
Oyedeji said the Sharon bus had packed by the market to drop some passengers when the cement truck lost brake and rammed into it from behind.
“As soon as the truck rammed into the bus, it immediately went up in flame and burnt virtually all the passengers inside it.
“Also burnt were the bus, two trucks and a motorcycle.
”The bus was reportedly heading to Abuja from the southern part of the country.
“Our personnel, who were on rescue operations with Red Cross Nigeria and Police officers, couldn’t save the situation due to the fierceness of the fire.
“But the charred remains of the affected persons were collected while the two injured persons have been taken to Fisayo Hospital, Obajana for medical attention,” Oyedeji explained.
He expressed worry that no hospital in Kogi agreed to take the charred bodies for keep, which might force the authorities to give them a massive burial if no relation come around to claim them.
The sector commander, who described the incident as “very sad and unfortunate”, cautioned motorists against speeding and poor maintenance of vehicles.
According to him, motorists should always check their vehicles to ensure everything in order before embarking on a journey to avoid road crash.