Truck kills 6 family members, 8 others in Benue

An incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday as a truck rammed into a residential building in Okete community of Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State, claiming the lives of 14 people including six family members.

Residents said the crash happened around 5 am while the family was asleep and the other victims who are Muslims were observing their early morning prayers beside their vehicles.

A resident who preferred anonymity said the deceased included six members of a family – a mother, her son, sister and three relatives – while the other victims included trailer drivers and their motor boys who parked their vehicles along the road side to pass the night in the Okete village located along the Otukpo – Adoka Road of the state.

Some residents, however, blamed the cause of the accident on brake failure, saying that the truck veered off the road and rammed into the building where people were sleeping.

• Tax reforms: Governors reject VAT hike, propose new sharing formula
• Why airlines’ funds can’t be trapped in Nigeria again – Finchglow GMD

 “We got reports that more people who were taken to the hospital died afterwards, bringing the total casualties to 14,” a resident narrated.

Meanwhile, the Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Benue State, Steve Ayodele, confirmed that the incident happened around 6am after a trailer whose driver lost control rammed into people praying by the road side before ramming into a residential building.

Ayodele, however, said “A total of nine people were killed on the spot. They include three persons praying beside their parked trailer on the roadside before the vehicle crashed into the building where six family members were also killed. Six others sustained various degrees of injuries and have been hospitalised.”

The Police Public Relations Officer for Benue State Command, CSP Catherine Anene, confirmed the tragic event to our correspondent on telephone.

Anene, however, said, “The truck rammed into the house, killing five or seven people. I need to look at the report sent to me again to ascertain the numbers but the command has launched a full-scale investigation into the matter, and updates will be provided in due course.”