Car crash claims seven lives in Kwara

• 15 die in Bauchi canoe accident
No fewer than seven passengers lost their lives in an auto crash yesterday along Olooru/Bode Saadu expressway in Kwara State. A source said to be a son of one of the victims, Ibrahim Buhari, told reporters in Ilorin that: “My father left home in the morning with the intention of going to Mokwa, some 70km away from Ilorin, the state capital.

“Few hours later, I was called and informed of the unfortunate loss in a motor accident. They were seven in the car and all of them died in the incident at Lumoh village along the Olooru/Bode Sadu expressway.”

Findings revealed that the accident involved two vehicles: a commercial DAF tanker and a private Toyota Corolla car. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Sector Commander in the state, Gbenga Owoade, who confirmed the incident, said all seven persons involved in the accident lost their lives. “There were four males and three females involved”.

He explained that the cause of the accident was speed limit violation and loss of concentration by both drivers of the vehicles, adding that the bodies of the accident victims have been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital mortuary.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Shehu Ningi, yesterday said about 15 people were killed in an overcrowded canoe accident at Gwaskaram village, Bauchi Local Government Area. He said the canoe was carrying passengers from Gwaskaram village area heading to the next village, Yola Doka, on a market day.

Ningi said that the accident happened over the weekend on the Gwaskaram river in Bauchi local government area of the state. He added they had confirmed 15 deaths in the mishap while three persons were rescued, adding that rescue operation was still ongoing.