Eight school children were on Thursday rescued in Lokoja, Kogi state by the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC), in Kogi after a 40-feet articulated container fell on two vehicles.
According to Samuel Oyedeji, the FRSC Sector Commander in the state, the incident happened at Lokongoma market around 5.30 p.m.
He said one of the vehicles was a Toyota Corolla car with registration number Kogi LMA 190 AA with no occupant, and a Nissan car with registration number Abuja RSH – 241FH carrying the eight school children.
Oyedeji said the fully loaded container was not properly attached to the trailer which made it fall off and landed on the two parked cars along the road.
“The truck lost its brakes when it couldn’t climb the Lokongoma small hill and began to roll backward. As it rolled back, it hit one of the parked cars, which made the container which wasn’t properly latched fell on the two vehicles and trapped the eight children inside one of the vehicles.
“Thank God, we were able to mobilise a rescue team with the help of the people, who rescued the eight children; four males and four females.
“We have rushed the eight children to Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja for proper medical check-up. .
The children were said to have been left in the car as their parents had gone to buy something for them in a shop, when the incident happened.
“We have been campaigning that a container must be properly latched on your trailer at any point in time yet the truck drivers don’t comply. We are going to prosecute the driver of this trailer to serve as a deterrent to other drivers.
“Though the driver of this trailer ran away, we will go after him and get him arrested and prosecuted,” Oyedeji said.
Narrating the incident, the owner of one of the smashed vehicles, John Adama, said that it was a miracle that the trapped eight children escaped death.
“The whole thing happened in my presence at about 3:30pm. I parked the car in front of my shop with nobody inside the car, but all of a sudden, I heard a big sound.
“The trailer had a failed break, and started coming backward, then dragged my car and the other car along, before its container now fell on the two cars. There were eight school children inside the other car, but thank God they were all rescued alive.
“It was my own car that held the container from compressing the children in the other car; it was indeed a great miracle. I thank God for using my car to save the lives of the children.
He appealed to the state government to come to my aid by replacing his car for him as he has no other means of livelihood.