About 20 persons were feared dead in separate auto crashes in Osun, Ogun and Imo states on Friday night and Saturday.
Eight lives were lost in Osogbo when a truck conveying kegs of palm oil and 61 passengers lost control while ascending a bridge along Osogbo/Gbongan road and fell into drainage ditch.
At least 36 passengers were said to have been injured in the accident that occurred around 1am, while the goods were destroyed.
Osun Sector Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Agnes Ogungbemi, said the accident was caused by overloading.
She explained that the vehicle was ascending the bridge when it started moving backwards and lost control.
She said, “The vehicle heavily loaded with jerry cans of palm oil and over 60 passengers was trying to ascend the ramp, but it rolled backwards and lost control.
“The vehicle fell sideways into the drainage, throwing the jerry cans over the passengers and killing some of them in the process.
“Probable cause of the accident is overloading. Thirty six people were injured and eight people died. The truck had 61 people on board.
“The injured victims were taken to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo and Asubiaro State Hospital, Osogbo. Dead victims had been taken to a mortuary.”
In Imo, about 10 women were feared dead while many were injured after a truck crashed into a market along Anara-Orlu Expressway, Nkwommiri, in the Nwangele Local Government Area of the state.
Our correspondent gathered that the truck lost control of its brakes and crushed the women who were trading by the roadside in the market around noon.
It was gathered that the truck was navigating a hill when it lost brakes, killing the traders after ramming into other vehicles.
A youth leader in the market, Adolphus Adolphus, told Sunday PUNCH that some of the victims were crushed into a nearby river.
He said, “The worst has happened here. A truck that lost its brakes has killed women trading by the roadside at Nkwommir. More than 10 of them were killed and many trapped.”
Another community leader, Frank Ozuruigbo, said the community was working with government officials to rescue those trapped in the crash.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said the rescue mission was ongoing, adding that two persons had been confirmed dead.
In Ogun, tragedy struck on Friday night when a truck crushed two motorcyclists to death in an accident on the Abeokuta-Ibadan Road.
Our correspondent gathered that the accident involved two motorcycles and a truck opposite a filling station around Kotopo in the Odeda LGA of the state.
The spokesperson for the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident to journalist on Saturday in Abeokuta.
Akinbiyi explained that the accident which occurred at 8.25pm was caused by reckless driving and impatience on the part of the motorcycle riders.
He said, “The accident was caused by reckless driving and impatience on the part of the motorcyclists as they rammed into a truck moving in the opposite direction. The two motorcycles and the truck have been taken to Aregbe Police Station in Abeokuta.”
He added that one of the deceased was taken away by his relatives while the body of the second victim was deposited at the morgue of Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba in Abeokuta after being confirmed dead by a medical doctor at the hospital. ,,
