From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
No fewer than 16 persons were burnt beyond recognition in the accident that occurred around Ode-omu in Ayedaade Local Government of Osun State.
An eyewitness said the accident that involved a Lexus vehicle and a commercial bus occurred around 5 pm on Friday.
A former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Ode-Omu branch, Alhaji Kareem Isau, explained that four persons escaped including a corp member and a security officer.
He said: “A Lexus vehicle from Ibadan had a collision with a Mazda commercial bus coming from Osogbo. The bus veered off the road and summersault into the bus.
“Unfortunately, a gas cylinder that was kept at the back (of the vehicle) sparked the fire, and the petrol inside the vehicle caused a raging fire.
“The incident occurred around 5 pm. I arrived at the scene some minutes to six while the fire was still burning, but we were helpless.
“Four people escaped death including a corps member and a security operative. Those that were inside the bus were said to have boarded the bus at Aregbe motor park, Osogbo.
“The victim said there was a nursing mother in the vehicles including about five children. When we were evacuating the passengers that were burnt to death in the presence of police and road safety, we counted 16 of them,” the NURTW leader stated.
The spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mrs Agnes Ogungbemi, confirmed the incident.
She said: “No detail for now because we have not been able to ascertain the dead but the injured have been taken to Ise Oluwa Medical Centre Odeomu.”
She confirmed that a vehicle that carried gas exploded causing the accident.