17 Roasted In Ife-Ibadan Road Accident

Tunde Oyekola, Osogbo - 15.12.2007

No fewer than 17 people were roasted to death in a multiple accident, which occurred on Thursday night near Gbongan on Ife-Ibadan Road.

The accident, which occurred at about 8 pm, involved four vehicles.

These were a trailer loaded with drinks, a commercial Peugeot 504 station wagon, a Mitsubishi truck and a BMW car. The vehicles were still burning as at 10.30 am on Friday. Many of those that died were trapped in the vehicles.

Eye witness account corroborated by the police said that the accident was caused by a trailer loaded with beer, which was coming from the Ibadan end of the road but had to make use of the other end owing to a bad portion on the road.

It was further gathered that unknown to the three other vehicles coming from the Ife end that the trailer was making use of their lane, they rammed into it, resulting in the outbreak of fire.

It was gathered that the fire prevented the rescue operations by officers and men of the Nigeria Police, the Federal Road Safety Commission and the fire service.

As at press time on Friday, the mangled bodies of some of the victims trapped in the accident were still burning while the bottles of drinks carried by the trailer were still exploding as a result of the fire.

A police officer, ASP A. Aiyegbeiniu, who led the police rescue team to the accident scene, confirmed that about 17 dead bodies had been recovered, adding that the rescue team would have saved more lives but for the fire, which was causing the explosion of some bottles.

Aiyegbeini said that those that were rescued had been taken to the emergency ward of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital for treatment.

However, Mr. Haldu Baba, the Sector Commander of the FRSC in Osun State, said only five people died in the accident.