Tragedy occurred on Ibadan-Ijebu Ode road, Ogun state as no fewer than 15 persons died while 38 others sustained varying degrees of injuries after a Toyota Canter truck plunged into dried Omi river.
The Ogun Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Clement Oladele confirmed that the incident which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday involved a white-coloured Mitsubishi Canter, marked XE 331 MKA, loaded with passengers travelling from Sokoto state.
Clement Oladele added that the suspected cause of the crash was fatigue on the part of the driver, saying that the vehicle veered off the road and crashed into the dried Omi river.
Oladele, who said that rescue operations was still ongoing, explained that 15 corpses, all male adults, had been recovered from under the river bridge.
“So far, 38 passengers in the mini truck sustained varying degrees of injuries and were taken to the State Hospital, Ijebu Ode for treatment,” he said.
The sector commander said that the corpses of the dead have been evacuated to Sabo in Ijebu-Ode, with the Sarkin Hausawa making arrangements with the police for their mass burial.
He advised passengers to desist from boarding ”Goods-Only” vehicle which, by their configuration, were not for transporting passengers but only goods.
Oladele advised the families of the victims to contact the FRSC command in Ago-Iwoye or Ijebu-Ode for details about the crash.
