No fewer than 13 persons were burnt to death on Sunday night in an accident involving a Toyota bus and a trailer at 4-Corners Junction, near Enugu metropolis, Enugu State.
The victims were burnt beyond recognition as the bus conveying them from Imo to Adamawa State, had a head-on collision with a trailer and exploded immediately.
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The victims were said to be attempting to beat Monday’s sit-at-home order in solidarity with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu over continued detention by the Federal Government when the bus collided with the trailer.
The accident, said to have occurred at about 10.30 pm close to the army checkpoint at 4-Corners, attracted the soldiers, who made a futile effort to rescue the victims.
It was gathered that soldiers alerted the officials of the Road Safety and Fire Service, but their quick response could not save the victims who were burnt beyond recognition.
It was further gathered that most of the passengers were deep asleep, resulting in their inability to recover quickly when the accident occurred.
However, the only passenger who survived was said to have jumped out from the window of the bus and was rescued by security operatives.
He was said to have been rushed to the nearby University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital(UNTH) Enugu.
The charred bodies of the victims were taken to the morgue of the UNTH.
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Enugu State command, Mr. Joseph Toby, confirmed the incident to our correspondent in Enugu, the state capital but said he could not give the number of casualties until they were through with work at the scene.
He said he and his men rushed to the scene immediately after he received the information about the accident and stayed there with the men of the fire service till 2 am Monday morning.
He added they had to return to the scene on Monday morning to evacuate the wreckage from the road despite the sit-at-home situation in the state.
