By Rita Enemuru, With Agency Report
A fuel-laden tanker on Thursday failed break, rammed a passenger bus and crushed three persons to death in Delta.
The fatal accident occurred at the ever-busy new Benin-Asaba Expressway in Agbor, Ika Local Government Area of the state.
The ill-fated bus was a Toyota Hiace bus in which three persons were crushed to death on the spot.
Stonix News gathered that the tanker and bus were coming from the opposite directions before the crash occurred.
The bus, belonging to Peace Mass Transit, was conveying its passengers from Lagos State, while the tanker, which was loaded with substance suspected to be premium motor spirit (petrol), was headed from Asaba axis before it allegedly failed break.
Stonix News learnt that the tanker driver made several attempts to halt the truck, but rather than being halted, the head of the tanker got detached from the body.
As a result, the driver, it was further gathered, lost control of the vehicle, scaled the highway median to the other side and rammed clangorously on the bus headed from the opposite direction and then burst into flames!
Stonix News was informed that the driver of the truck and his assistant (conductor) as well as the driver of the Toyota Hiace bus were trapped due to the collision and were burnt to death.
Sources disclosed that other passengers in the bus sustained varying degrees of injuries as other road users made frantic attempt to rescue them.
The incident led to panic culminating in a heavy vehicular gridlock which lasted for several hours.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who were on hand, later directed road users to take alternative routes in the locality.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, confirmed the incident when contacted by Stonix News.
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