No fewer than 28 people have lost their lives in a fatal automobile accident on Thursday which occured close to Ningi along the ever-busy Kano-Bauchi road involving two vehicles.
The fatal accident has been confirmed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bauchi State Command.
The state command disclosed that the 28 victims were burnt to death from the two vehicles which caught fire immediately following the head-on collision.
In a telephone interview with reporters on Thursday, the Corps Commander of the Bauchi Sector Command, FRSC, Abdulrazak Najume confirmed the accident and further added that the FRSC men were at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) sorting out the corpses as at the time of the interview.
The FRSC said that the accident involved two vehicles, a Peugeot J5 Bus and a Toyota Hiace Bus, 18-seater Hummer Bus with registration Number, ZRM-91XA while that of the second vehicle couldn’t be ascertained as it was burnt beyond recognition.
According to reports, the accident occurred on Thursday, 12th December 2019 at about midnight when two vehicles coming from opposite directions had a head-on collision due to poor visibility.
Abdulrazak Najume further said that the accident occurred when the driver of the Hummer Bus who was sleeping, lost control and had a head-on collision with the other vehicle which had cows in it.
He said that immediately the led FRSC got the information, its officials quickly mobilised to the scene of the crash at exactly 6.49 am for a rescue operation saying that: “Yes, the accident is true, it is not an illusion. The accident occurred at Gubi Gari Village, along Bauchi-Kano highway. The vehicle took off from Dutsinma in Katsina State and was on its way to Adamawa State when the accident occurred. There were 29 people who were involved in the crash and only one survived.”
The FRSC Commander added that “The driver of the Hummer Bus was sleeping and he suddenly woke up to see the other oncoming vehicle but he lost control and had a head-on collision with the J5. Immediately the crash occurred, the two vehicles caught fire and all of them including the passengers and the cows were all burnt beyond recognition. It was only the driver of the Hummer Bus that survived with serious injuries.”
“In all, 28 people, 24 in the Hummer Bus and four in the J5, were burnt beyond recognition. We could only identify that four of them were males while the sexes of the others could not be ascertained because they were burnt beyond recognition,” he explained.
Abdulrazak Najume also said that the charred bodies and the victim who sustained serious injuries were taken to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi for confirmation and treatment.
The FRSC boss who expressed sadness over the unfortunate accident cautioned drivers to be more careful while on the road to avoid loss of lives and properties on the highway saying, “This is saddening and unfortunate losing 28 people in a day in an accident. These drivers need a change of character and attitude because you shouldn’t carry people and drive anyhow just to go and kill them.”
He concluded, “You see, the driver of the bus was sleeping while driving and it was very late at night. They should avoid night journeys because this accident was very fatal. I went there myself with my men and you could see how people got roasted, people melted. We saw a head inside the vehicle but there was no body, it’s very unfortunate.”