From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
Five persons were confirmed dead, while 12 others received various degrees of injuries when a mini bus rammed into a heavy-duty vehicle at Ntigha, in Isiala Ngwa council of Abia State, along the Aba-Umuahia end of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
The accident occurred on Friday evening when the driver of the ash-coloured minibus loaded with 18 passengers travelling from Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Enugu, allegedly lost control while approaching the junction and hit the long vehicle from behind.
Eyewitnesses said the cause of the accident was over speeding by the vehicle driver which led to his inability to control the bus as he approached the busy junction used as trading posts and commercial motorcycle park for passengers going into communities in the area.
Confirming the accident, a top official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Abia State command, Mr Anderson Ogarekpe, said the 12 persons who were injured had been taken to the Okpuala Ngwa General Hospital, and other hospitals within the area for treatment, while the bodies of the five that lost their lives were deposited in a mortuary in Ntigha.
Mr Ogarekpe said his rescue team arrived at the scene of the unfortunate incident barely ten minutes after it occurred, and advised road users to avoid over-speeding especially now that part of the expressway had been rehabilitated and become smooth for driving.