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Why we were unable to save 19 victims of Okene-Lokoja highway crash – FRSC
For over 3 hours, emergency rescue teams of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have been making efforts to rescue road accident victims at the scene of a fatal crash that claimed 19 lives on Sunday, 28 April 2024 at Okene bypass, on the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.
According to a statement signed by Jonas Agwu, Assistant Corps Marshal, Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC Headquarters Abuja, the FRSC emergency rescue teams deployed to rescue the victims could not achieve desired results as the efforts they put into the rescue operations was unduly hindered by the fire inferno that engulfed the two vehicles.
Agwu said, “You would recall that the Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, had during his press conference on Thursday last week drawn the attention of road users to issues of imbibing moral and ethical rebirth, which have become a major issue in the country. He warned against traffic violations citing instances where they resulted in avoidable crashes with fire outbreak, leading to wanton loss of precious lives and destruction to properties.
READ ALSO: 19 die in tragic auto crash on Okene-Lokoja highway
“As a result of that he had earlier emphasised on the need for maximum penalty for these drivers. Mr Biu reaffirmed the resolution of the Corps to continue its ongoing prosecution of drivers who by their actions cause road traffic crashes in Nigeria, noting that the driver of the truck involved in the Okene crash will not be an exception.
“He called on the judiciary, leadership of transport unions and other relevant stakeholders in the road transportation sector to join hands with the Corps towards restoring sanity through speedy and effective prosecution.
According to the statement, the crash investigation report revealed that the crash involved two vehicles comprising of a Dangote truck bearing the following registration details NSH680YJ, and a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number KMC455ZE.
The Toyota Hiace Bus loaded from Kano was on its lane on the highway when the Dangote truck driver, who drove all the way from Port Harcourt, wrongfully overtook a vehicle and collided head-on with the bus. The impact of the collision resulted in a fire inferno that burnt the victims to death.
According to the report, the crash was caused by route violation ‘One Way’ and wrongful overtaking. The unfortunate crash involved 22 people, all males.
He said 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and one person was injured. The remaining two victims who got rescued by FRSC operatives without injuries survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on compulsory use of seatbelt.
The corpses of the dead victims have been deposited at Okene General Hospital.
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