BY TIMOTHY AGBOR
NO fewer than eight passengers have been confirmed dead while scores of others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a truck accident that occurred in Osogbo, Osun State, on Saturday morning.
The Volvo FL7 truck, with registration number KMC 35 ZJ, was said to have lost control while plying the November 27 cross over bridge, Osogbo, around 1:20am.
The Point gathered that the driver lost control probably due to overloading as the truck carried Palm oil and Kolanut.
It was gathered that the vehicle was transporting the goods to the North while 61 passengers, including the driver, were on board.
When our correspondent visited the scene around 10:30am on Saturday, the palm oil had spilled on the ground while gallons littered the busy road.
The Osun State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps, Kudirat Ibrahim, who was at the scene, said that the injured passengers had been rushed to Osun State University Teaching Hospital and Asubiaro General hospital in Osogbo.
Ibrahim said the heavily loaded truck rolled backwards and lost control while trying to ascend the ramp. The gallons of palm oil were said to have rolled over some passengers and killed them.
“The vehicle which was heavily loaded with Jerry cans of palm oil and over 60 passengers was trying to ascend the ramp but started rolling backwards and lost control. It fell sideways into the side drainage, throwing off the jerry cans over the passengers and killing some in the process,” she said.
She added that the deceased victims had been taken to the morgue.
However, Ibrahim admonished road users to be road conscious always and obey traffic regulations to avoid being caught in accidents that could lead to loss of lives and property.
