15 dead, 5 injured in Kogi auto crash

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), on Tuesday, confirmed 15 persons dead and five others seriously injured in an auto crash that occurred in Kogi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the crash followed a collision between J-5 Boxer Bus and a Petroleum Tanker, at Koton-Karfe along the Lokoja-Abuja highway around 7.30am on Tuesday.

Corps Commander Stephen Dawulung, Kogi FRSC Sector Commander, who confirmed the incident, said that the five injured persons were rushed to Ideal Hospital at Koton-Karfe for immediate medical attention.

Dawulung said the corpses of the dead victims had been deposited at the Morgue of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja.

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The sector commander explained that the cause of the crash was the sheer violation of traffic rules by the bus driver, who was driving against traffic while heading to Abuja from Lokoja.

“The bus driver left his lane and was driving in the opposite direction at high speed only to have a head-on collision with an on coming petroleum tanker.

“Thank God the tanker which was laden with Petroleum product did not go up in flames, which could have been more devastating and worrisome.

“The unfortunate thing is that the bus was conveying iron cramps with 17 passengers, 15 of which were terribly squeezed and chocked to death during the collision.”