Twelve passengers lost their lives in a tragic accident along the Benin-Auchi highway in the early hours of Saturday, as a Toyota Hiace bus collided head-on with a truck, bursting into flames.
The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Cyril Mathew, confirmed the incident, which occurred around 5 a.m. at Igueoviobo community, near an army checkpoint.
According to Mathew, the ill-fated bus had departed from Zuba, Abuja, and was en route to Benin when it crashed into an oncoming truck heading towards Auchi. The impact ignited a fire that consumed the bus, leaving no chance for the passengers to escape.
“The entire occupants of the bus were killed in the crash,” Mathew stated, adding that driver fatigue was a likely cause, as the driver may have dozed off while driving.
FRSC officials identified the victims through the vehicle’s passenger manifest and have since reached out to their families.
Meanwhile, the truck driver and his assistant, commonly known as the “Motor Boy,” survived the crash unscathed.
