Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Trailer kills 20 - 25 injured

Trailer kills 20 - 25 injured

By Our Reporter - 12.12.2007

BLOOD flowed freely on Tuesday in Awka, Anambra State, as no fewer than 20 people were feared dead and another 25 sustained varying degrees of injuries in an auto accident.

The crash, which occurred at the busy Akwata junction, according to eyewitnesses, was caused by a truck carrying heavy construction equipment after its brakes failed and it ran into a crowd of people.

Akwata junction is a popular point of convergence for Okada riders, pay-phone operators, hawkers, commuters and other artisans. However, there were conflicting reports on the number of people killed in the accident and those injured.

Many of those involved were Okada operators as no fewer than 10 motor cycles were seen crushed at the scene of the accident. Two vehicles, a blue Peugeot 504 car and a tipper lorry which the truck ran into before it crashed into the block industry premises were seen at the site of the accident.

Reports also said that some passengers who just alighted from some vehicles at the bus stop also fell victim. It was wailing as relatives of the victims and passers-by surged to see the mangled bodies of victims.

At the Regina Ceili Hospital two victims were confirmed dead, while four of those injured were receiving treatment. Some eyewitnesses said that some of the bodies and injured persons were taken to some private hospitals.



This article was taken from the Nigerian Tribune newspaper website, www.tribune.com.

1 comment:

zen said...

It is unfortunate that this accident occurred and killed so many innocent bystanders. A lot of larger vehicles in most parts of Nigeria often drive recklessly and have bad brakes...This is a result of what happens when they do and things go wrong. I find it hard to understand why there was trouble assessing the number of casualties though...