Sixteen people were burnt to death and five others injured in an auto accident at Ajue village, between Ondo and Ore, in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Tuesday night.
Two vehicles, a commercial Toyota Hiace bus and a Man Diesel truck, were involved in the accident that happened at about 8 pm.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),
Ondo State Sector Commander of FRSC, Samuel Ibitoye, said that the fully loaded bus was coming from Lagos and heading to the northern part of the country.
Ibitoye said that it took the FRSC about four hours to clear the road.
He attributed the accident to excessive speeding and wrongful overtaking, adding that one of the vehicles might have been carrying fuel.
“Three male adults were seriously injured, two had minor injuries and 16 people were burnt beyond recognition.
“Though investigation on the cause of the accident has not been concluded, preliminary investigation indicated high speeding, wrongful overtaking and, possibly, one of them carried fuel inside the vehicle.
“Meanwhile, the injured ones have been taken to Ore General Hospital for treatment, while the corpses have been released to the Hausa Community in the area for possible burial this morning,’’ he said.
He appealed to motorists to shun speeding and observe all rules and regulations of the road.
“And they should not carry fuel inside their vehicles, because when there is a crash the fuel explodes and burns everybody badly,” he said.