Commercial Bus Plunges into River, Killing 12 Passengers

A tragic incident occurred on Oyo/Ogbomoso Road after a commercial bus plunged into the Odo-Oba River trying to avoid a head-on collision with another vehicle that lost control and veered off its lane.

An eyewitness, speaking to PUNCH, said:





“From the report I had, the bus was travelling to Ilorin and as it approached the slope leading to the small bridge over the river, an articulated truck took over the path of the road and in an effort to avoid collision with it, the bus driver veered off the road and plunged into the river.”

“It was difficult pulling the passengers out of the river despite the volunteer rescuers that arrived at the scene early. Twelve people died immediately,” the eyewitness said.

According to the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adekunle Ajisebutu, “The driver of the Mazda bus lost control of the vehicle and plunged into the Odo-Oba River.”

“Nine adults and three kids died on the spot and their bodies have been deposited at the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso. There were three survivors. The police, with assistance from local drivers, pulled the bodies and passengers out of the river. The vehicle is still in the river,” Ajisebutu said.

He added that the bodies deceased have been taken to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.

The Oyo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Yusuf Salami who also confirmed the accident, said:

“From the report I had, the bus was travelling to Ilorin and as it approached the slope leading to the small bridge over the river, an articulated truck took over the path of the road and, in an effort to avoid collision with it, the bus driver veered off the road and plunged into the river. It was difficult pulling the passengers out of the river despite volunteer rescuers that arrived at the scene early. 12 people died immediately.”