Eleven persons have been confirmed to dead after an articulated vehicle failed brakes and rammed into a gas-laden taker abandoned along Itobe-Anyigba road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state, Mr Stephen Dawulung, who confirmed the incident on Thursday, stated that 11 corpses recovered were burnt beyond recognition.
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He added that seven other victims who were injured, had been taken to a nearby hospital at Ochadamu and Ajaokuta.
He said 12 cars, two articulated vehicles (a tanker and truck) and six motorcycles were burnt during the accident.
The locals stated that trouble started when a soldier allegedly seized the cellphone of a truck driver whom he spotted filming him during an argument with a Siena bus driver at the military checkpoint.
It was gathered that the alleged Sienna bus driver refused to stop at the checkpoint after he was flagged down by the military personnel.
In the melee that followed, the driver of the gas-laden tanker drove his vehicle and crossed the road, abandoning it there and left to an unknown location.
Thereafter, a truck carrying coal said to have failed brakes rammed into the tanker and caught fire.
As of the time of filing this report, the said highway was blocked as travellers from Lokoja heading towards made use of Idah by-pass route to reach their destinations.
