No fewer than 18 persons were feared dead in an accident involving a Ford Explorer SUV and a Mazda bus at Alapako area on Lagos /Ibadan Expressway on Sunday.
Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Public Relations Officer, Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abeokuta.
Akinbiyi stated that the accident happened around 6:30 pm at the diversion end in Alapako on the Lagos /Ibadan Expressway.
He explained that the accident was caused by wrong overtaking on the part of the Mazda bus which led to a head-onSUB collision with the Jeep.
“The accident involved 19 people, 18 people died while one person was seriously injured.
” The Commercial Bus with registration number GGE 873 XU was trying to overtake a vehicle in front before colliding with the Ford Explorer Jeep with registration number KJA 278 DS coming from the opposite direction.
“All the 18 passengers in the bus died while the driver in the SUV , the only occupant, sustained injury.
” Seven of the dead passengers were evacuated by our officers and their remains deposited at FOS Mortuary, Ipara-Remo, while the remains of another three, who were initially injured but died later, were deposited at Isara General Hospital, ” he said.
The TRACE spokesman said that the bodies of the remaining eight passengers were evacuated by the officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and could not confirm where they were taken to.