TRAGIC: Pregnant woman, 8 others die in Edo road crash
By Tony Osauzo, Benin City
Tragedy struck in the early hours of Tuesday in Benin City, the Edo State capital, South South Nigeria when nine persons lost their lives in a road accident involving a tipper and a commercial bus.
The accident occurred at about 6 am along Upper Sokponba road near Oka Market in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area.
Six of the nine passengers, including a pregnant woman in the commercial bus marked BEN 435 ZN, reportedly died at the scene of the accident, while three others died in the hospital they were taken to for medical attention.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident occurred when the tipper rammed the commercial bus which parked to pick a passenger on the road.
The accident sparked protest from family members, friends and other commercial drivers plying the route, resulting in setting bonfires on the road and commercial drivers suspending work which made passengers to trek long distances.
One of the drivers that gave his name as Osas said they stopped work to protest reckless driving by tipper operators.
The tipper that caused the accident was not spared, as the protesters set it ablaze. The driver was not however seen.
The Central Hospital, Benin City, was a beehive as families were seen coming to the morgue to identify bodies of their dead relatives.
The Edo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Samuel Odukoya, said nine persons were confirmed dead.
He added that the protesters prevented his men from having access to the scene.
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