By Damilare Adeleye
No fewer than 18 passengers have tragically died in a fatal accident on the Ijebu-Ode/Ore expressway, Ogbere area of Ijebu East local government in Ogun State.
It was learnt that the victims were burnt beyond recognition in the incident involving a Toyota Hiace, with registration number XA 690AKU, while one passenger sustained injuries.
Babajide Akinbiyi, Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), confirmed the accident in a statement issued from Abeokuta, the state capital.
The accident, which occurred due to an inferno from Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) stored in a jerry can inside the vehicle, was classified as a lone accident.
“According to eyewitness accounts and this was corroborated by the driver, there was a keg full of Petroleum Motor Spirit inside the bus.
“It fell on its side when the vehicle got to a failed portion of the road. The PMS poured on the floor of the bus and later dropped on the exhaust pipe and caused the vehicle to catch fire in transit,” Akinbiyi explained.
He added that the driver, who was partially burnt, was rescued and taken to Rona Hospital in Ijebu Ode, while the deceased were deposited at the State Hospital Mortuary, Ijebu Ode.
While warning drivers against storing fuel in jerry cans, Akinbiyi expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
