Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Twelve persons, mostly women, have died in a fatal road accident which occurred on Tuesday in Ebonyi.
The incident, it was gathered, happened along the Ezillo axis of the Enugu/Abakaliki Expressway.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) confirmed the fatal accident.
According to its Sector Commander in Ebonyi, Uche Chukwurah, the accident involved a shuttle bus and a truck.
She said 12 of the 14 passengers in the bus died while two injured persons were rushed to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital (AE-FUTHA) for treatment.
“14 passengers were involved. 12 died: 10 females and 2 males. The 2 injured are receiving treatment at AE-FUTHA,” she said.
The bus was a private University shuttle bus that plied the Abakaliki town to Ishieke and Permanent site campuses of the Ebonyi State University (EBSU).
The pictures of the accident with the bus which was marked EBSU Bus Service caused panic among the university community.
However, sources said the earlier reports that the victims are students of Ebonyi State University (EBSU) was false.
A reliable source noted that the while the accident involved one of EBSU Shuttle buses the passengers were not students of EBSU.
The source explained that the passengers had hired the Bus for a separate (non-academic) trip.
It was gathered that the passengers, who are mostly women, hired the bus to convey them to an event outside the state believed to be a burial.
