20 Confirmed Dead, Seven Injured in Bauchi Multiple Accidents

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed that 20 people have died in multiple crashes that occurred in Bauchi on Sunday while seven others sustained various degrees of injuries.

The Sector Commander, FRSC Bauchi State, Mr. Yusuf Abdullahi, who confirmed this to newsmen yesterday, said that the two separate crashes occurred 30 minutes apart at two different locations in the state.

Abdullahi said that the first crash that involved an 18-seater Toyota Hummer bus and a trailer occurred at about 7.00 p.m. at Bambal Village along Kano-Jama’are Highway.

According to him, the 18-seater bus collided with a trailer with registration number plate: MAD710XA and went up in flames, burning its passengers beyond recognition.

“The crash was caused by speed violation. The hummer bus rammed into a moving trailer and it went into flames, killing all the occupants on board. The corpses were taken to General Hospital Kiyawa where a medical doctor confirmed them dead,” he said.

Abdullahi said the second crash happened at 6.30 p.m. at Duhuwar Kura village, along Azare-Zaki Road, killing four passengers and injuring seven others. He stated that the crash involved a Volkswagen Golf car driven by one Mr. Abubakar Haruna and a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle. He attributed the crash to speed violation and overloading.

He said: “There were 11 people involved in the crash comprising of nine male adults, one female adult and one female child.

After the crash, the victims were rushed to the Federal Medical Center, Azare, for confirmation and treatment, where a medical doctor confirmed the death of four male adults. Those injured included five male adults, one female adult and one female child.”

He lamented the frequent crashes along the routes across the state. “This accident is very terrible. This crashes are very disturbing,” he said, adding that “the unfortunate thing is that these people drive pass through our routes. You know the Azare-Kano Road is a dual carriage highway so they drive recklessly.

“The problem is speed. They don’t drive within the approved speed limits. It is very unfortunate. We call on drivers to avoid overloading and over speedding. They should also observe road traffic rules and regulations so that lives and properties that are lost in these crashes will be minimised.”