5 burnt to death as bus catches fire at Yangoji

Five persons have been burnt to death in an accident involving a commercial bus at Yangoji village on Abuja-Lokoja highway. Our reporter learnt that 12 others sustained various degrees of burns and were evacuated to Kwali General Hospital by the rescue team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) when the incident occurred last Wednesday. […]

Five persons have been burnt to death in an accident involving a commercial bus at Yangoji village on Abuja-Lokoja highway.

Our reporter learnt that 12 others sustained various degrees of burns and were evacuated to Kwali General Hospital by the rescue team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) when the incident occurred last Wednesday.

A witness said the accident happened when an 18-seater commuter Hiace bus with registration number BNK 220XA lost control and crashed into a concrete drainage.

He said the bus went up in flames immediately it upturned adding that men of the FRSC from Yangoji immediately rushed to the scene to rescue some of the burnt victims.

“The fire was much as the FRSC men tried to rescue the passengers that were trapped inside the bus, unfortunately, five among them were burnt beyond recognition,” he said.

When contacted, the Yangogi unit commander of the FRSC, ACC Joseph Samgbaza, confirmed the accident, which he attributed to speed limit violation and loss of control.

He said the five dead bodies have been deposited at Kwali General Hospital, while the injured victims were also receiving treatment at the same hospital.

City News who visited the hospital on Saturday gathered that some relatives had claimed the corpses of the identified ones.

In another development, four persons were injured when the tailboard of a trailer fell on top of a Toyota Sienna bus on Saturday morning at Bako village, on the same road.

A witness  said the incident happened at about 9:12a.m. when a Daf trailer with registration number XC 729MKR loaded with iron pipes was trying to divert, in which the tailboard fell on the Sienna bus with registration number ZA 247BKT.

He said a tipper truck without registration number which was also coming from behind rammed into the bus, saying the four occupants inside were injured.

An FRSC official at the scene who preferred anonymity said the four injured victims were taken to University of Abuja Teaching Hospital at Gwagwalada.