No fewer than 70 persons perished in a multiple road accident that occurred yesterday at Uromi Junction in Agbor along the ever busy Agbor-Asaba highway in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.
It was a gory and horrifying scene as the fire that engulfed a number of vehicles including two oil tankers, Lagos-bound luxury bus and four saloon cars as well as four motorcycles was still raging when THISDAY visited the area yesterday afternoon.
One eyewitness account said the accident occurred around 10 am yesterday when a fuel tanker that was trying to overtake another trailer that had broken down at Uromi Junction of the highway lost control and fell, thus spilling its content on the road.
According to the eyewitness, this immediately sparked off fire, which engulfed all the vehicles and motorcycles around the trailer.
Many of the victims, which he said included pregnant women, were burnt beyond recognition. Several others were also seriously injured.
By 12 noon yesterday, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials were seen battling to evacuate the charred remains of the victims strewn all over Uromi Junction.
Another account blamed the accident on the luxury bus, alleging that the bus was probably rushing back to Lagos from Onitsha, unknown to the driver of the vehicle that a fuel tanker was negotiating a U-turn at Uromi Junction.
“Before he realised this, it was too late. The vehicle lost control because the driver could no longer stop the bus. The bus hit the tanker and fuel started gushing out and then a loud explosion,” the eyewitness said.
The eyewitness said 99 per cent of those that died were either travelers or passengers waiting for vehicles to travel for Christmas.
The South-east Zonal Commander of FRSC, Mr. Ndi Zakari, who led a team of officers and men of the commission to the accident scene, however, told THISDAY that the accident must have been caused by the foggy weather as motorists find it difficult coping with visibility during the Harmattan Season along the highway.
He said the tanker driver might not have seen the broken down trailer, causing him to ram his vehicle into it (broken down vehicle) while other vehicles also followed suit.
The Delta State FRSC Sector Commander, Mr. Oluwasusi Familoni, confirmed the accident.
He said: "Yes, we are aware of it, it was a fatal accident. For now, we are still rescuing some people, we cannot say for now the number of the people that died and the vehicles involved."
Those who sustained serious injuries have been rushed to the General Hospital, Agbor and other neighboring hospitals while several bodies mostly unrecognised have also been deposited at the mortuary.
FRSC officials were seen battling to remove the wrecks of the vehicles to ease the long build-up of traffic that had already built up along the road.
Meanwhile, the state Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has directed that all the celebrations for the Christmas season slated for last night be cancelled as a mark of empathy for the departed.
The state Commissioner for Information Oma Djebah said as soon as Uduaghan heard of the sad incident, he immediately put inter-ministerial machinery in place for rapid response, evacuation and restoration of normalcy on the Agbor-Asaba highway.

Nigeria

A country where human life is cheaper than chicken. Where a simple intercity drive turns into a death trap

im deeply grieved 4 the victims of this tragedy and their families