The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency has confirmed that 18 passengers have died in an accident in the Ogbere area of Ijebu East Local Government, along the Ijebu Ode/Ore Expressway.
The accident involved a Toyota Hiace with registration number XA 690AKU. The passengers were burned beyond recognition, and one person sustained injuries.
Babatunde Akinbiyi, the public relations officer of the state-owned traffic agency, confirmed the incident in a statement issued in Abeokuta, the state capital.
He explained that the accident occurred due to a fire caused by petroleum motor spirit stored in a jerry can inside the vehicle.
“According to eye witness account and this was corroborated by the driver, there was keg full Petroleum Motor Spirit inside the bus, it fell on it’s side when the vehicle got to failed portion of the road. The PMS poured on the floor of the bus and later dropped on exhaust pipe and caused the vehicle to caught fire on transit” he said.
” The partially burnt and injured driver rescued to Rona Hospital in Ijebu Ode,while the dead deposited at State Hospital Mortuary, Ijebu Ode
While advising drivers to avoid storing fuel in jerry cans to prevent such incidents, the public relations officer also extended his condolences to the families of the deceased.