By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Two separate vehicle accidents at around the same spot on Thursday have reportedly claimed 13 lives in Kwara State.
The accidents occured along Ilorin-Jebba highway in Moro Local Government Area of the state, the road linking South West and North West zones of the country.
One of the two 18- seater buses, said to be involved in the accidents, was said to be coming from Lagos to the north, while the other was heading to Lagos from the north end.
The first accident reportedly occured when the bus from Lagos end lost control and rammed into a stationary long vehicle (trailer) on the side of the road. Eleven passengers in the bus were said to have died in the accident.
The second one, where two passengers died, was said to have happened when the driver of the bus was avoiding involvement in the accident of the first one and veered off the road.
Eight other people, who were injured in the accident, were said to have been admitted in private hospitals in Bode Saadu community in the local government area of the state, while remains of the dead passengers had been deposited at the mortuary of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) Ilorin.
The sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Gbenga Owoade, who confirmed the accidents, attributed them to carelessness on the part of the drivers.
“In the first one, we had 11 people that died instantly on the spot. Two persons died in the second crash, while one of the two corpses had been taken away by its family members.
“Every hand has to be on board to appreciate the fact that lives cannot be retrieved. Once live is gone it’s too expensive,” he said.
The sector commander also cautioned drivers to avoid night journey, overloading and being intoxicated while driving.