By Our Reporter
Five persons have died while 18 others sustained injuries in a multiple-vehicle crash along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway in Enugu State.
The Federal Road Safety Corps confirmed that the accident occurred around 3:18 p.m. on Thursday at the Ugwu-Onyeama axis of the expressway, near the Liquefied Natural Gas plant.
The FRSC Route Commander and Public Enlightenment Officer of the Enugu State Sector Command, Theophilus Okoduwa, disclosed this in Enugu while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria.
According to him, the crash involved a Dongfeng trailer, a Mitsubishi L300 commercial bus and a Honda car, with 25 people on board the three vehicles.
He said 18 victims—seven males and 11 females—were injured, while five others, comprising four males and one female, died in the crash.
Okoduwa said FRSC personnel arrived at the scene within nine minutes of the incident being reported to the Sector Command at about 3:25 p.m.
He explained that the injured victims were evacuated to Tex Hospital, 9th Mile Corner, for immediate medical attention, while the bodies of the deceased were deposited at Ekochin Morgue, 9th Mile, after being confirmed dead by medical personnel.
The FRSC official added that traffic had been diverted as efforts continued to remove the wrecked vehicles and restore normal traffic flow on the highway.
He said preliminary findings indicated that wrongful overtaking and excessive speed might have contributed to the crash.
The FRSC urged motorists using the route to exercise caution, obey traffic regulations and avoid dangerous overtaking and speeding to prevent further loss of lives.