So Sad: Nine die in Lagos crash, mob burns truck

Tragedy struck at the University of Lagos Waterfront end of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State, on Wednesday after a Mazda bus with number plate, AKD 292 XL, rammed into a stationary truck.

No fewer than nine people, including the bus driver, reportedly died on the spot.

Three other passengers, who sustained serious injuries, were said to have been taken to the Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada.

The driver of the truck reportedly fled the scene after seeing the enormity of the fatality.

“People were not willing to stop their vehicles to assist the victims. I met some policemen on the ground. We used my spanner to break open the door. But the passengers were trapped. We wanted to use my vehicle to pull the bus from the truck, but we couldn’t. We later stopped another truck, which assisted us.

“A rescue agency later brought a sledgehammer that we used to open up the vehicle and bring out nine bodies, including that of the driver, Segun. The driver still had the fares he collected in his hand. He didn’t have a conductor. We left the scene around 2am on Thursday.”

Kunmi said policemen from the Adekunle division and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASEMA, and the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit were part of the rescue operation.

He said three survivors, who were in critical conditions, were taken in an ambulance to the Gbagada General Hospital.