Ogun Bus Accident: 12 Bodies Recovered, Six Still Missing

Security operatives and emergency workers said Saturday that they have recovered 12 bodies of victims of a commuter bus that plunged into a river in Ogbere-Ijebu, Ogun State, claiming  several lives on Friday, They however said that six bodies were still missing.

An official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) who pleaded anonymity, told THISDAY that the 28-seater  bus which went deep into the river had been located.

He said a woman and some children were thrown out of the bus when it skipped off the road and was heading into the river.

Checks indicated that the Coaster bus took  off from Sango-Ota in the early hour of Friday and was heading to Uronigbe in Edo State before the unfortunate incident occurred by 11 am.

It was gathered that shortly after the accident, both police and local divers made spirited efforts at locating the wreckage of the bus to no avail. The bus was eventually located    yesterday when NEMA mobilised agencies and local divers.

Items recovered from the scene of the accident, according to eyewitness account, included jewelries, some cash which were said to have been handed over to the police.

’NEMA mobilised all agencies with local divers and the bus has been located deep in the river with the crane brought in by NEMA. Removal of the wreckage of the bus is on-going,’’ the NEMA official said.

The Unit Commander of Ijebu Ode Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Seidu Isha Osilanna, had told journalists that a pregnant woman was also among the survivors as she hung on a tree branch before she was rescued.

On the causalities figure, he said ‘’no one knows the exact number of passengers  in the bus or the casualty figure, as they are still in the water. The casualties are more than those who survived.’’

Culled from THISDAY