7 die in auto crash in Bayelsa

According to a witness, Mr. Joel Ebi, the two vehicles, an 18 seater Toyota Hiace with registration number YB 820 AAA, and a Sienna bus with registration number, BJ 292 BWR collided. Both were said to be coming from Warri in Delta State.
While the Toyota Hiace was said to be heading to Calabar, the Sienna was said to be conveying a family to Aba in Abia State. The Toyota bus was said to have exploded and went up in flames after the collision resulting to the death of the passengers including its driver.
It was gathered that both vehicles were on high speed with one attempting to overtake the other which resulted in the collision.
Another eyewitness, Mr. Amabebe said immediately the accident occurred, the Hiace bus veered off the road near his farm, adding that he heard a loud explosion before the vehicle caught fire.
According to him, “the bus suddenly burst into flames. We rushed to the scene and were able to rescue seven of the passengers”.
 Chukwuma Ukaegbu, the FRSC Unit Commander of Sagbama Local Government, blamed the accident on disregard to traffic regulations by the two vehicles.
“The Sienna   and Toyota buses were on high speed. They were attempting to overtake one another before the accident occurred. We have been able to rush eight victims to the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri,’’  he said.
The FRSC official said four persons were burnt to death as they were trapped inside the vehicle.
Weekly Trust gathered that the remains of the passengers had been deposited at the morgue of the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri by officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission(FRSC),while the rescued commuters are receiving medical treatments in same hospital.
The State Commander of the FRSC, Vincent Jack, confirmed the accident, saying his subordinates were at the scene to get the details.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state Alex Akhigbe confirmed the accident, but said he was yet to get the details.