According to eyewitnesses, a commercial Mazda bus travelling from Osogbo collided with a private vehicle travelling from Ikorodu, Lagos State, to Osogbo.
The commercial bus, which was carrying a gas cylinder in its trunk, lost control after being hit by the Lexus vehicle and swerved into a bush, catching fire.
Mr. Kareem Isau, former chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers, Odeomu Branch, who confirmed the incident said when he arrived the scene, the affected bus was already on fire.
While 3 passengers and the driver escaped the fire,16 corpses including 5 children were removed from the burnt vehicle. Isau said;
“I arrived the scene of the accident around 7pm on Friday. People I met there told me a Lexus vehicle coming Ibadan end hit a commercial Mazda bus coming from Osogbo going to Ibadan. The bus lost control and entered the bush. Immediately that happened, the bus caught fire because a gas cylinder was kept in the trunk of the vehicle.
“I saw that gas cylinder when it was brought it. The vehicle was already burning when I arrived the scene around 7pm. I was told the accident occurred earlier. The Mazda bus left Aregbesola area in Osogbo going to Ibadan.
“Four people escaped: the driver of the vehicle, a security agent, a corps member and a lady. One of the four that survived, a lady, told us that the bus with 18-passenger capacity left Aregbesola Area on Friday for Ibadan.
“She also said some of the passengers were nursing mothers and carried their babies, while some passengers sat on each others lap. When we were removing the corpses from the vehicle, five children were packed together. In all we removed 16 corpses from the vehicle.”
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