24 hours after recording eight deaths, five more people die in Bauchi auto accident

Twenty-four hours after an Opel Vectra vehicle had a head-on collision with a tipper on the Dass – Tafawa Balewa road on Saturday, leading to the death of eight persons, five other persons have lost their lives in another fatal accident at Zalanga village on the Bauchi-Maiduguri highway in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

A resident, Adamu Musa, informed journalists on the telephone on Monday that the unfortunate accident occurred at about 10pm on Sunday.

Adamu said a commercial Sharon bus, conveying traders from Darazo, who were returning from Alkaleri market, rammed into an articulated vehicle (trailer) conveying charcoal.

He attributed the accident to carelessness on the part of the trailer driver, who he claimed was coming from the bush but entered the main road unexpectedly without any caution, leading to the Sharon bus ramming into it at the middle section.

Adamu informed that five out of the 10 passengers in the bus died on the spot, while the remaining sustained varying degrees of injuries.

“There were 10 passengers in the Sharon minibus out of which five people died instantly, while others were seriously injured and taken to the Darazo General Hospital for treatment,” Adamu informed.

He, however, called on the authorities to promptly arrest the incessant accidents caused in the area as a result of the activities of charcoal dealers.

According to him, “we have been complaining about the activities of these charcoal dealers. They don’t have regard for other road users because their vehicles are trailers and bigger than others.

“We have lost many people through such accidents. We are calling on the concerned authorities to come to our rescue.”

Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Sector of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed that fatal accident through its daily bulletin, informing that it occurred at about 10pm and was reported to the Corps at about 10.23pm.

The bulletin indicates that Road Safety personnel arrived the accident scene at about 11pm to carry out rescue and evacuation operations.

It added that all the injured victims were evacuated to the Darazo General Hospital for confirmation and medical attention.

According to FRSC, the Sharon commercial bus, with registration number: DRZ 887 XA, on the fleet of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), was driven by one Isa Mohammed, while the trailer neither had a registration number nor the name of the driver known.