Driver, assistant burnt to ashes in auto crash

An unidentified driver and his assistant were said to have been burnt to ashes at the Felele area of Lokoja, Kogi State, on Wednesday night following an auto-crash involving a truck and two cars.

Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that the 33,000-litre truck which was carrying diesel lost control and rammed into two cars parked at a hotel.

The vehicles were said to have burst into flames and also gutted the hotel.

It was gathered that the state firefighter battled the fire for over four hours before they could put it out.

The Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, who visited the scene, said the accident was a signal to the government to ensure that the laws guiding construction of structures near highways were strictly enforced.

Awoniyi said, “This is not the first time this kind of ghastly accident is happening on this highway and this may not be the last. We must plan to forestall it through proper and prompt control.”

The Managing Director of the hotel, Mr Michael Ayua, said he and some trader occupying the shops attached to the hotel lost property worth millions of naira to the fire.

PUNCH