Fifteen persons were on Tuesday confirmed dead while 38 others sustained various degrees of injury in an accident which occurred at Omi river, Ajegunle bridge, along the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode highway in Ogun State.
The accident, according to the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State Command, Clement Oladele, occurred in the early hours of Tuesday.
The accident involved a white colour Mistibushi Canter truck with registration number, XE331MKA overloaded with passengers travelling from Sokoto state.
The vehicle veered off the road and crashed into the dried Omi river, along the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode road.
Oladele attributed the cause of the accident to fatigue on the part of the driver.
As at the time of filing this report, rescue operation at the scene of the accident was still ongoing by joint rescue operatives led by the FRSC unit Commander in Ijebu-Ode and rescue operators from the Corps in Ago-Iwoye outpost Command.
Confirming the accident to Blueprint, Oladele said, “So far 38 passengers in the mini truck sustained various degrees of injuries and have been rescued to the state hospital Ijebu Odefor medical treatment.”
“Fifteen corpses all male adults out of the passengers cramped into the Canter mini truck have been recovered from under the bridge from the dried river.
“The corpses of the dead victims have been evacuated to Sabo in Ijebu Ode with the Sarki Hausawa making arrangements with the police for mass burial of the dead victims,” Oladele added.
