In what can unfortunately be described as an
independence day tragedy , a fully loaded
passenger bus has plunged into a river killing no
less than 16 passengers .
A fully loaded commercial bus plunged into Iju
River along Owode -Idiroko Road in Ado- Odo Ota
Local Government Area of Ogun State yesterday.
According to The Sun , the accident, which
involved a white 18- seater passenger bus
happened about a kilometre from Covenant
University, Otta .
The Mazda bus with registration number Epe 197
XG was said to have taken off from Sango and
was heading towards Atan -Idiroko when the
driver lost control and the bus plunged into the
river about 10. 45 am .
Sixteen of the occupants of the bus died while
four others suffered injuries and were taken to a
nearby hospital .
Local divers helped to coordinate early rescue
operations before the arrival of rescue agencies
including the police and officials of Federal Road
Safety Corps .
An eyewitness told Sunday Sun that the local
divers helped to recover bodies of five victims,
while a woman and her daughter were rescued.
Another victim who simply identified himself as
Taofeek was also seen at the scene with bruises
on his face.
Confirming the crash to Sunday Sun in a
telephone interview , the Head of Operations , Ota
Unit of FRSC , Mr. Tunde Odunmbaku blamed the
accident on excessive speeding .
According to him, “ There were 20 passengers
onboard. Eight of them were male while the
remaining 12 were female. The accident
happened about 10. 45 am due to excessive
speeding on the part of the driver.
Bodies of the deceased have been deposited in
the morgue .