15 persons burnt to death in Lagos, Oyo accidents

No fewer than 15 persons were burnt to death in separate auto accidents in Lagos and Oyo states on Thursday.

In Lagos, five persons were burnt beyond recognition while three others sustained injuries in a fatal accident on the Badagry-Seme Expressway.

The Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps at Badagry, Sulaiman Taiwo, confirmed the accident.

He said that the accident occurred in the Akoro village end of the Badagry-Sème Expressway.

He explained that the accident involved a Honda Pilot SUV with registration number LSR 772 HE and motorcycle with unidentifiable registration number.

Taiwo said the driver of the Honda Pilot lost control before hitting the motorcycle laden with petrol.

“The driver of the jeep collided with the motorcycle resulting in an explosion.

“By the time we got to the scene, the raging fire had burnt three persons beyond recognition, while two others lost their lives during the rescue operation.

“Three persons that survived the inferno were taken to the General Hospital in Badagry while the five corpses were deposited at the mortuary in the same hospital,’’ he said.

The Medical Director, General Hospital, Badagry, Dr Olatunde Bakare, said some relations of the dead had reported to claim the bodies, while the three survivors were receiving treatment at the Emergency Unit of the hospital.

Also, in the Oyo State accident, 10 passengers were burnt to death on Oyo-Ogbomoso road.

Two vehicles, a Mazda and a Toyota Hiace passenger buses, were said to have been involved in a head-on collision, and the passengers were burnt.

The FRSC confirmed the incident on Thursday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Joshua Adekanye, said the incident occurred around 5.30am on Oyo-Ogbomoso road.

He said the buses with number plates,  LEM 963 XA and NSR 222 ZS, were coming from Lagos and Nasarawa states respectively.

Adekanye said theee was fire immediately the buses collided while the occupants were burnt to death.

He called on motorists to always shun night travelling, speeding and over loading, adding that the fatality would have reduced if the drivers were not on night journey.