Badly burnt lone survivor dies

The luxury bus involved a multiple accident, at Ugbogui, along Benin-Ore Expressway... on Saturday

The only survivor of the accident, which claimed almost 40 lives around Ugbogui, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State, on Friday, has died.

It was learnt on Saturday that he died on Friday around 11:15pm at the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.

A source said the survivor, whose name was unknown, was transferred to the ICU from the Burns Ward when his condition became critical.

The source, who craved anonymity, said, “It was obvious that his chance of survival was slim. He had 100 per cent burns and medically, it is rare for such victim to survive.

“Contrary to speculations he was the only person they brought in alive after the incident. When his case could no longer be handled at the Burns Ward, he was transferred to the ICU where he eventually died around 11:15pm on Friday.”

Meanwhile, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the deceased driver of the fuel-laden truck identified as Saturday, had abandoned his vehicle in Lagos for many days before picking it up on Friday.

A friend of the deceased, who craved anonymity, said Saturday’s plan was to load his truck before Easter but he had to abandon the vehicle in Lagos when he could not get allocation at the depot.

He said, “He went to Lagos before Easter but was unable to load (fuel), and left the tanker in Lagos. After Easter he returned to pick up the loaded tanker, now he is dead.

“Saturday was a nice man. He lived in Ikpoba Hill, by Agbor Park, in Benin. Unfortunately he was not married and had no child.”

Rescue workers, including men of the Federal Road Safety Corps, evacuated the  charred human remains to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital mortuary.

On Saturday, some workers were seen clearing the wreckage of the burnt vehicles to allow for free traffic flow on the road. FRSC Unit Commander, Ekiadolor, Ameen Adewale, was also sighted at the accident scene.

An official of the FRSC, who pleaded anonymity, said, “We are just trying to remove the wreckage so that the expressway can be free for vehicles to move. We have engaged the services of Reynolds Construction Company; they are the ones helping us to separate the three vehicles, so that the expressway can be free for motorists.”

Asked for number of deceased taken to the mortuary, the source said it  was impossible.

“I cannot tell you the number corpses taken to the mortuary, there was lot of carcass; heads, legs, it’s not possible to count them out,” he said.

No less than 35 persons died in the accident that involved a trailer belonging to Dangote Industries, the petrol tanker and a luxury bus, around 1pm, on Friday, around Ugbogui in Edo State.

An official report by the Federal Road Safety Corps says an average of 11 people were killed daily in road accidents across the country in 2012.

The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Osita Chidoka, in September, 2012, at a forum in Sokoto State, also said road accidents were the biggest killers of Nigerians.

He said, “No other disease is killing people in the country like road traffic accidents and this is a source of concern for all the stakeholders.”

Chidoka said 2,235 accidents killed about 3,000 people in 2011, making Nigeria the second country in the world with the highest fatalities on the roads.

According to the agency’s reports, highways that record major frequent road disasters include the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Sagamu-Ore-Benin Highway, Abuja-Keffi Road and the Abuja-Lokoja Road.

In a recent interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, the National President, Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Esahon Enabulele, confirmed that road crashes remained a top killer in Nigeria.

To corroborate Enabulele, a human rights group, Campaign for Democracy, said road crashes had killed more Nigerians than HIV/AIDS and malaria put together. It said an average of 9,000 road users died annually due to bad roads and non-availability of road signs and markers.

A statement by the Chairman, CD, South-East, Mr. Dede Uzor, had said, “It is an obvious fact that the FRSC has failed to put in place road signs and markers in major highways to guide motorists.”

Ironically, the FRSC Zonal Commander in charge of Lagos and Ogun states, Mr. Ademola Lawal, at a forum in Abeokuta in December, 2012, argued that more accidents occur on good roads than bad ones.

He said drivers, in their attempts to make up for lost time on bad roads, over speed and become reckless whenever they get on good roads.

“People are not used to good roads and they take the advantage to the extreme. So, we have to continue to educate road users on the need to be cautious while on good roads,” Lawal said.

PUNCH