Eighteen passengers have been confirmed dead in a tragic accident involving a Toyota Hiace bearing the registration number XA 690AKU.
According to the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, the incident occurred in the Ogbere region of Ijebu East Local Government, situated along the Ijebu-Ode/Ore expressway
NaijaOnPoint.com.ng (NOP) reports that the public relations officer of the state-owned traffic agency, Babatunde Akinbiyi in a statement noted that the victims suffered burns that rendered them unrecognizable, while one individual sustained injuries.
He stated that the single-vehicle accident was triggered by a fire resulting from petroleum motor spirit stored in a jerry can within the vehicle.
“According to eye witness account and this was corroborated by the driver, there was keg full Petroleum Motor Spirit inside the bus, it fell on it’s side when the vehicle got to failed portion of the road. The PMS poured on the floor of the bus and later dropped on exhaust pipe and caused the vehicle to catch fire on transit.
”The partially burnt and injured driver rescued to Rona Hospital in Ijebu Ode,while the dead deposited at State Hospital Mortuary, Ijebu Ode,” the statement read.