No fewer than 19 travellers lost their lives in an accident at the Kateri axis of the Kaduna-Abuja Highway on Sunday night.
Daily Trust gathered that the accident which occurred around 8 pm claimed the lives of 16 people on the spot while three others died at the hospital.
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It was gathered that the accident involved a commercial DAF trailer travelling from Lagos to Kano with 53 persons onboard.
Confirming the incident to Daily Trust, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kaduna Sector Commander, Hafiz Muhammed, said out of the 53 in the truck, 34 sustained injuries while 19 died.
He said their corpses were deposited at Doka General Hospital mortuary along Kaduna-Abuja Highway.
“Yes, the accident happened around 8 pm and it claimed 19 lives out of the 53 persons in the vehicle, 34 others sustained injuries and were rushed to Doka hospital for treatment.
“I think it was a result of overspeeding and there was an element of fatigue on the driver because they left Lagos State around 3 pm on Saturday and the accident happened on Sunday night,” he said.
He said relatives of the victims, who are mostly from Kano and Zaria have been trooping to the hospital to take the corpses for burial.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who visited the scene, said officials of the ministry visited the site of the crash to ascertain the report of events and avoid misrepresentations of the incident.
He said Governor Nasir El-Rufai expressed shock and sadness at the report and prayed for the repose of the souls of those who perished in the crash.
He also sends condolences to their families and wished the injured victims a speedy recovery.
The governor enjoined drivers on the route to exercise caution at all times and avoid potentially dangerous driving practices like speeding.
