About 16 people, believed to be police recruits, were yesterday feared dead in an auto crash at Omua Aran, Irepodun local government area of Kwara state.
Although the state police command, while confirming the report, declined to give out the number of casualties, eyewitness accounts claimed that the victims were 16 in all and were all burnt in the crash.
The accident, which reportedly occurred at about nine o’clock in the morning, involved in a Mercedes Benz car and an Hummer bus. The accident occurred at a point in front of Federal Government Girls College, Omu-Aran. The bus was said to have caught fire before rescuers could reach the scene. Three people who reportedly survived the accident were said to have been rushed to Omu-Aran General Hospital where they are receiving treatment.
The Hummer bus, it was gathered, had been chattered by the police recruits to convey them from Ilorin to Nasarawa state where they had just been posted. But a Mercedes Benz, with registration number Kaduna AB347BKA, coming from the opposite direction ran into the bus which caught fire immediately.
It was gathered that the police recruit were Kwara indegenes trained in Lagos but had a detour to Ilorin en-route Nasarawa state where they were posted.
The number plate of the bus was squeezed to pulp following the impact of the accident making identification impossible.
Another eyewitness and auto mechanic, Mr Adekunle Azeez, said the driver of the car, who was critically injured, had lost grip of the steering wheel and rammed into the bus.
“The car was on top speed on its way toward Omu-Aran and I think the driver lost grip of the steering wheel and swerved before ramming into the bus “The bus immediately caught fire,” he said.
The Divisional Police Officer in Omu-Aran, Mr Rasak Adebayo, confirmed the incident and said his command had started investigations.
Confirming the accident, Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Mr. Fabode Femi said though the command was aware of the accident and fatalities, he was yet to ascertain the actual number of victims.