Confusion Over Casualty Figures In Enugu Multiple Auto Crash As Police Claim 4 Dead, FRSC Claims 2 Killed
However, speaking with SaharaReporters on the telephone, the state Sector Commander, Adeyemi Sokunbi, said the accident occurred around 7pm on Tuesday night.
The Federal Road Safety Corps has confirmed that only two people died in a multiple road crash at Ugwu Onyeama, along Enugu – Onitsha Federal highway in Enugu State.
Meanwhile the Enugu State Police Command, in a conflicting statement said only four people died and not 25 as being reported in a video trending on social media platforms.
However, speaking with SaharaReporters on the telephone, the state Sector Commander, Adeyemi Sokunbi, said the accident occurred around 7pm on Tuesday night.
According to him, the accident involved seven vehicles and 29 people.
Sokunbi said: “The crash occurred yesterday evening around 6:30 – 7pm. The crash involves seven vehicles.
“Although the crash investigation report is not yet out, however preliminary investigation indicate that the tank brake failed and ran into the other ones (vehicles).
“So people died at the scene of the accident. It involves 29 people but two died on the spot and only 10 out of the 29 were rushed to the hospital. It means that the other ones, their injuries are not much.
“The ones that were rushed to the hospital are eight male adults and two female adults.
“So they were rushed to the Parklane and Orthopedic hospitals here in Enugu where they are receiving treatments. One is very critical and is currently on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Parklane Hospital. I and the commissioner for Transport were at the hospital today for follow up.”
He, however, noted that until crash investigation report is out, he cannot state the actual cause of the accident.
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Police Command has said that four persons died in the accident.
The Command’s spokesman DSP Daniel Ndukwe in text message simply said: “It’s a case of multiple fatal motor accident that claimed 4 and not 25 lives, please.”
Some eyewitnesses had told SaharaReporters that the crash involved 10 vehicles including private and commercial buses.
According to them, 25 people died in the multiple crash, which they blamed on a military checkpoint.
They claimed that so many people who were fatally injured were taked to hospitals in the state capital.
“A trailer plying the newly constructed lane had a brake failure and smashed more than 10 cars both private cars and commercial buses.
“The army checkpoint at that axis continues to claim lives.
“More than 25 persons lost their life instantly and many rushed to the hospital,” one of the eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters.
A video of the incident shared with SaharaReporters shows the bodies of some victims scattered on the road. Some vehicles including a petrol tanker plunged into a nearby ditch. Some cars were smashed beyond recognition.
