Posted by By FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa on
No fewer than 15 persons lost their lies on Tuesday afternoon in a ghastly motor accident along the East- West road in Bayelsa State.
No fewer than 15 persons lost their lies on Tuesday afternoon in a ghastly motor accident along the East- West road in Bayelsa State.
The accident which involved a truck with registration number XA 941 JRT loaded with cartoons of maggi cube and a commercial bus in the fleet of Affordable Motors with registration number, Rivers XB 410 BNY occurred just before the Kaiama bridge in Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government Area of the state.
According to eye-witness account, the truck while descending from the bridge lost control and ran into the commercial bus which was also on top speed ascending the bridge.
A policeman, who declined to give his name but claimed he was on duty at the spot told Daily Sun that the truck refused to stop at the check point before the bridge and sped off only for the men on duty to be told few minutes later that it has been involved in an accident after the bridge.
He said the driver of the truck was confused and in shock after the accident while the other three occupants took to their heels.
A mob from Kaiama community that got wind of the accident mobilized to the Kaiama police station to attack the driver, who was kept in protective custody but the policemen on duty were able to resist them.
Another eye-witness told Daily Sun that immediately the accident happened, the impact threw off the only survivor, a 10-year-old boy from the window of the bus into the bush while the other passengers died instantly.
A man who identified himself as Mr. Jerry told Daily Sun that he was part of the people that arrived the scene moments after the accident.
'I came here few moments after the accident and we only saw one survivor a 10-year-old boy and one young man whom we still met breathing but with difficultly. We asked him what happened but he was just nodding his head and he gave up the ghost. We were here when the Federal Road Safety people came to evacuate the bodies of those that died," he said.
When Daily Sun got to the scene of the accident, mangled bodies including legs that were formerly of the driver, shoes, newspapers, books, littered the ground while officers of the FRSC were busy evacuating the bodies of those that died to the Patani mortuary.
An FRSC official who pleaded anonymity told Daily Sun that the problem now is how to contact families of the deceased as no manifest was found.
He lamented that since the accident happened, no vehicle belonging to Affordable had passed the road for their management to be informed of the accident.
The officer blamed the accident on over speeding and cautioned drivers against speeding especially along the East- West road.