No fewer than six people reportedly died in a fatal road accident along Ninth Mile-Ugwu Onyeama road in Enugu State.
Reports obtained by OsunDailyNG on Wednesday morning revealed that the accident involved a crude oil tanker, an SUV, a Hiace bus and a fully-loaded truck.
It was gathered that the accident occurred when the crude oil tanker had a head-on collision with the truck carrying cement. Also, the SUV reportedly rammed into the truck while the oil tanker smashed the Hiace bus.
Reports revealed that four of the victims are family members, including a man, his wife, and their two children.
An eyewitness who spoke to Vanguard on the accident revealed that several others, about 11 of them, sustained varying degrees of injuries in the accident.
Some of the survivors were reportedly rushed to ‘Our Saviour Medical Centre’, the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu and the Enugu State University of Technology Teaching Hospital for immediate treatment.
Deputy Governor Visits Accident Scene
OsunDailyNG learnt that the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ossai, has since visited the scene of the incident and as well the hospitals where the surviving victims are been treated.
The news platform quoted the Deputy Governor as saying that the cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained.
He said the government was awaiting a report from relevant institutions responsible for such matters.
“Unfortunately, we lost some lives while a couple of our people were injured.
“We are also grateful to the security agencies who came and effected the immediate rescue,” Ossai was quoted saying.
He assured that the government would support those who were injured for their treatment and post-treatment rehabilitation. Ossai further said that the government would work with institutions such as the Federal Road Safety Corps and others to encourage road users to minimise the incidence of road accidents, saying most of them were avoidable.
Commenting on the surviving victims, the Medical Director of Our Saviour Medical Centre, Emma Ngwu, said the accident was “ghastly with a lot of fatalities”.
The doctor said 14 survivors were brought to the hospital while six bodies were deposited in the hospital’s morgue.
“We have been busy all this while, trying to make sure those of them who are alive get treated, and 10 of them are seriously injured,” Vanguard quoted the doctor saying.
One of the survivors, who gave her name as Blessing, said the Hiace bus filled with passengers took off from Abakaliki, in Ebonyi State and was en route to Lagos State before the accident occurred.
Blessing thanked God for saving her and others just as she prayed for the quick recovery of those who sustained various injuries.
