Eighteen people have tragically lost their lives in a road accident along the Ogbere axis of the Benin-Sagamu expressway, Ogun State, according to the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE).
In a statement, Babatunde Akinbiyi, the TRACE spokesperson, confirmed the accident involved a Toyota Hiace vehicle (XA 690 AKU) that crashed into a deteriorated section of the road.
The collision ignited an explosion caused by petroleum motor spirit (PMS) stored in a jerrycan inside the vehicle. The victims were reportedly burnt beyond recognition, with only one survivor.
“Eyewitnesses and the driver confirmed that a jerrycan filled with PMS fell over when the bus hit a bad section of the road,” Akinbiyi explained. “The fuel spilled onto the bus floor and ignited after coming into contact with the exhaust pipe, causing the vehicle to catch fire while in transit.”
The lone survivor, the vehicle’s partially burnt and injured driver, was rescued and taken to Rona Hospital in Ijebu Ode for treatment. The bodies of the deceased were taken to the State Hospital Mortuary in Ijebu.
Akinbiyi urged drivers to avoid storing fuel in kegs to prevent such avoidable disasters, and extended heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.
This tragic incident comes shortly after TRACE reported four fatalities in road accidents in Abeokuta last month. Additionally, on Monday, 36 Muslim worshippers lost their lives in a separate road accident in Kaduna state.
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