No fewer than 21 people have been reported dead in road crashes in Jigawa and Rivers states.

The Jigawa crash occurred in Zandam Nnogogo village in the Gwaram area of the state.

The victims were returning from a wedding when the incident happened around 11.30am on Tuesday.

It was gathered that the victims were among 42 passengers travelling in an 18-seater bus.

The front tyre of the overloaded vehicle was said to have burst, as the driver lost control.

The vehicle reportedly somersaulted several times before bursting into flames.

While 19 passengers were burnt to death, 23 were reportedly rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.

The Jigawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Abdul Jinjiri, said most of the deceased were reduced to ashes.

“The vehicle was filled with women and children, including babies. The dead victims were burnt beyond recognition; they were reduced to ashes.

We had to invite a doctor to the scene to examine their remains before they were given a mass burial at the scene. It was a horrible sight,” he added.

Jinjiri noted that 19 of the survivors had been discharged from the Azari Federal Medical Centre where they were rushed to for treatment.

The Rivers crash, which occurred in the Ahoada area of the East-West Road, involved a Toyota Sienna which had a head-on collision with a speeding truck.

While two people died on the spot, two others, who were seriously injured, were said to be receiving treatment in a hospital.

An eyewitness said a combined team of the police and the Federal Road Safety Corps helped in taking the victims to the Ahoada General Hospital.

A nurse, Mack-Bonaventure Egbule, said the relatives of one of the deceased, Sunny Eje from Benue State, had taken his remains to the mortuary.