5 Die, 18 Injured in Enugu Multiple Crash

ENUGU — Five persons have been killed and 18 others injured in a multiple road crash involving a trailer, a commercial bus and a car on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Route Commander and Public Enlightenment Officer, Enugu State Sector Command, Mr Theophilus Okoduwa, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Enugu.

Okoduwa said the crash occurred at about 3:18 p.m. at the Ugwu-Onyeama axis of the expressway, near the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant, and involved 25 persons comprising 13 males and 12 females.

He said 18 victims, comprising seven males and 11 females, sustained injuries, while four males and one female died from the impact of the crash.

According to him, the vehicles involved were a Dongfeng trailer, a Mitsubishi L300 commercial bus and a Honda car.

“Within nine minutes of reporting the incident to the FRSC Sector Command at about 3:25 p.m., our officers and marshals, as well as patrol vehicles and an ICU ambulance, arrived at the scene,” Okoduwa said.

He said the injured victims were taken to Tex Hospital, Ninth Mile Corner, for immediate medical attention, while the five bodies were deposited at Ekochin Mortuary, Ninth Mile, after medical officials confirmed their deaths.

Okoduwa said traffic had been diverted while efforts were ongoing to clear the obstruction caused by the wreckage, adding that preliminary investigations indicated that wrongful overtaking and speeding might have contributed to the crash.