2 Persons, 11 Cows Die As Truck Plunges Into River

Two persons and 11 cows died in the wee hours of yesterday, when a truck plunged into a river at Abaji town, along Abuja-Lokoja road.

A witness said the incident happened at about 3:15 am. He said a Marcopolo luxury brand bus with registration number XB 125 KPU overtook a vehicle on the bridge top and collided with an oncoming truck that was loaded with cows.

“The truck’s head pulled off and entered into the river with the driver and a passenger trapped to death,” he said.

According to the reports, there was a traffic gridlock at about 6:12 am on the road, while Road Safety officials, soldiers and Civil Defence officials were trying to remove the corpses and clear the road.

When contacted, Abaji unit commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Moses Audu, confirmed the death and said 14 others sustained injuries.

He said the corpses were at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada, while the injured passengers were taken to Abaji General Hospital. The FRSC commander further blamed the traffic gridlock on the road after the accident to impatience by commercial bus drivers.