By David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
No fewer than three pupils who were being conveyed to their school and five other persons said to be passengers of a commuter bus have died in an early morning accident involving a sewage tanker, a tricycle and a commuter bus.
Sources within Nnewi said the accident happened at about 8am on Thursday, when a sewage tanker while trying to avoid a stationary truck loaded with crates of alcoholic beverage collided with a mini bus along Otolo/Okigwe Road in Nnewi North Local Government of Anambra State.
THISDAY gathered that the sewage tanker ran into the commuter bus and the tricycle, which was conveying the children to school, leaving three of them dead, while five persons from the commuter bus also lost their lives.
The Police Public Relations Officer of Anambra State Police Command, SP Haruna Mohammed, who confirmed the fatal accident, however said only three persons died in the accident, adding that their bodies have been deposited in the mortuary.
He said: “Police patrol teams attached to Otolo division along with MTD personnel visited the scene and rushed victims to Nnewi Diocesan Hospital where three victims were confirmed dead by the doctor while three others are responding to treatment. Corpses are deposited at the hospital morgue for postmortem examination.”
He however added that before the arrival of police officers to the scene, a mammoth crowd of aggrieved persons had as a result of the accident set the vehicles ablaze.
He said police officers quickly cordoned off the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order and prevent looters from taking advantage of the situation to loot.
He said: “Efforts are ongoing to clear obstructions in the area, and the case is under investigation to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident.”
