The Enugu Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Ogbonna Kalu, on Thursday, said that 21 person including school children died in a road crash at Mgbowo in Awgu Local Government Area.
Daily Trust gathered that a good number of other children, including roadside artisans and hawkers, were also seriously injured in the accident.
Commander Kalu, who confirmed the incident to Daily Trust during a telephone chat, stated that the crash occurred on Wednesday evening at about 4:30pm.
He, who said that though the number of injured could not be confirmed as at the time of filing this report, noted that before the FRSC officials could arrive at the accident scene, some parents had taken their children to various hospitals for treatment.
Ogonna attributed the cause of the accident to mechanical fault on the lowbed trailer which was involved in the crash with a 608 school bus conveying many pupils.
He said that the trailer developed a problem while moving on a sloppy and sharp bend as it rammed into the school bus at Nkwo Awgu junction.
He said: “As I speak with you, 21 persons have been confirmed dead.
“The school bus had 51 school children of Catholic Primary School, a driver and two teachers.
“The children were both in secondary and primary.
“Also of note is that not all the deaths were school children.
“Those walking on the roadside were part of the casualties.”
He described the incident as unfortunate and sympathised with the parents and the Catholic Diocese of Awgu for the loss.
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