By Valentine Amanze, with agency reports
No fewer than 20 people were feared dead Friday November 24, 2017 in an automobile crash at Njaba bridge, along the ever busy Owerri-Umuaka-Okwudor-Orlu federal highway.
The crash involved a tanker loaded with about 33,000 litres of premium motor spirit, PMS, and a fully loaded 18-seater commercial bus.
It was not very clear at press time what caused the crash or which vehicle crashed into the other, but eyewitness said that the two vehicles were traveling in opposite direction.
“The tanker burst into huge flames as soon as the crash occurred. Only a female passenger was said to have managed to come out of the crash alive but sustained extensive burns. All the other passengers were burnt beyond recognition”, the man said.
Meanwhile, Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, has condoled the families of the deceased.
In statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, the governor disclosed that the crash was caused by tanker’s break failure.
According to him, “It happened when the driver of a tanker carrying diesel lost control as a result of failed break and crashed into a bus loaded with passengers, and caught fire.
“All the passengers in the bus were reported to have died in the inferno.”
The governor also warned drivers to always service their vehicles before putting them on the roads.
He said that the accident would have been averted if the driver of the tanker, who also lost his life in the incident, had put the break of the lorry in order.
