Road accident claims 19 lives in Nigeria

At least 19 people were confirmed dead on Sunday following a ghastly motor accident on a major highway in Nigeria's southwest province of Ogun, an official said.

State spokesperson of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) Babatunde Akinbiyi told reporters at Ahebo that the accident, which occurred along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, involved a tanker, laded with fuel, an 18-seater passenger bus and an articulated vehicle.

Akinbiyi said the fuel truck travelling toward Ibadan rammed into the articulated vehicle conveying cement, while trying to overtake it at a diversion, and collided with commercial bus heading toward Lagos.

He said all the 19 occupants of the bus lost their lives on the spot.

Nigeria is among countries of the high death rates in traffic accidents, mainly due to careless driving, crumbling roads or invalidity of some vehicles used in public transportation.

source : xinhua