By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
No fewer than 16 persons have lost their lives in a fatal road accident along the Lokoja-Okene highway in Kogi State.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Kogi State, Lawal Fagge, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview on Friday.
According to him, the crash occurred at about 9:20 a.m. at Aku village near Osara along the busy highway.
Fagge said the accident involved a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number BUU 17 ZD, which was travelling from Jos, Plateau State, to Lagos with 22 passengers on board, comprising 21 males and one female.
He attributed the crash to fatigue, noting that the vehicle, allegedly on high speed, veered off the road and plunged beneath a bridge.
The accident claimed the lives of 16 occupants, including 15 men and the only female passenger in the bus.
The FRSC commander said officers of the Kogi State Command responded swiftly to a distress call and rescued six passengers who sustained varying degrees of injuries.
According to him, the injured victims were taken to health facilities in Osara and the Specialist Hospital Lokoja for medical treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were deposited at Ankuri Mortuary in Lokoja.
Fagge urged motorists and other road users to remain safety conscious and obey traffic regulations while travelling.
