Pregnant woman, eight others burnt to death in Kwara autocrash

Emamuzo Ugeh

Nine persons, including a pregnant woman, on Sunday were burnt to death in a multiple autocrash in Ilorin, capital of Kwara State.

Eight persons, all men, sustained various degrees of burnt injuries during the incident, it was gathered.

The accident occurred around 8am opposite Ilorin International Airport along Ilorin-Ogbomosho highway.

Twenty persons were said to be on board the ill-fated Toyota Corolla car and Toyota Hiace commercial bus before the incident.

The vehicles registration numbers are LRN787FE Toyota Corolla and AFN06YL Toyota Hiace.

One of the vehicles involved in the crash was said to have carried petrol-filled kegs.

Kwara state Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Jonathan Owoade confirmed the incident, attributing the accident to overspeeding

He said: “A car coming out of the airport ran across the road, thinking it could have crossed the road before the bus got to it. Incidentally, it was said that it was carrying fuel.”

He added that passers-by helped to ferry the injured to the state General Hospital, Ilorin.

He said that FRSC patrol team had deposited the corpses of the dead at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) mortuary.