At Least 40 Dead in Nigerian Horror Crash

At Least 40 Dead in Nigerian Horror Crash

Reports emerged in the UK and world media on Monday 16th of August of a horrific road accident in Nigeria, in which at least 40 people are believed to have been killed.

The tragic accident happened on the evening of Sunday 15th August on a busy motorway ‘expressway’ between the cities of Lagos and Ibadan. It is understood that a lorry, which was loaded with sugar, crashed into dozens of vehicles waiting at a police checkpoint, and exploded into flames after its brakes failed to operate when driving down a slope.

The official number of people dead or injured as a result of the accident is yet to be confirmed, however the estimate has risen from 20 to at least 40 in the last few days, and it is understood that at least 20 vehicles were involved including 2 minibuses which were able to carry 18 people each. The sugar company who owned the vehicle causing the accident has also confirmed that the two employees in the vehicle have died. It has been reported that many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition and identifying the bodies is likely to be a lengthy process which will only prolong the agony of the victims’ families.

In the chaos following the immediate aftermath of the accident, many commuters abandoned their vehicles in the road causing further traffic congestion which lasted for hours which hindered the rescue effort.

Mr. Fadipe Idowu, an official from the Lagos Fire Fighting Department, stated that nearly 20 passengers of a Toyota Urvan commercial mini bus, which the runaway truck smashed into, may have been killed and dozens of other people were injured. Mr Idowu said “We discovered that the vehicles had casualties inside, people were trapped. So with the assistance of the public we were able to rescue some of the victims out, although they sustained injuries, while some others were very unfortunate – they got trapped and were roasted.”

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