14 burnt to death in Ife road accident

No fewer than 14 people including women and children  died yesterday in a  ghastly road accident in Ile-Ife, Osun State.The victims were burnt beyond recognition as the 18-passenger bus conveying them from Ore, in Ondo State to Ibadan ran into a fuel laden tanker and exploded immediately.

The Guardian learnt that the bus carried some engine blocks, which contributed to the trapping of the passengers when it hit the truck.The accident, said to have occurred at about 12 noon in front of a fuel station, some metres from the main gate of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile –Ife attracted sympathisers who made futile effort to rescue the victims.

Eyewitness account said the truck was trying to enter a nearby filling station to empty its content but the driver of the bus suddenly lost control and rammed into the truck , which caused a spark and an explosion.

An eyewitness, Mutiu Oladele Mutiu, attributed the fault to the driver of the bus with Lagos Registration Number: MUS702 XH.Oladele said the passengers were trapped and people around on rescue mission became helpless while the situation had already gotten out of hand before men of the fire fighters  and Federal Road Service  Corps (FRSC) arrived the scene.

However, three passengers were said to have been rescued and taken alive to the Seventh-Day Adventist  Hospital, Ile Ife  but one of them
reportedly died on arrival.

The charred bodies of the victims were taken to the morgue of the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC).The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Osun State, Anthony Oko, confirmed the incident.