LAGOS (AFP) – At least 20 passengers were burnt to death when a bus collided with another vehicle and caught fire in southwest Nigeria, police and an official said yesterday.
The accident at Lanlate in Ibarapa area of Oyo state on Friday, is the latest road crash in the vast west African nation of some 210 million people.
“It was a fatal accident. We counted over 20 human bodies burnt completely,” Chairman of Ibarapa district Gbenga Obalowo, told AFP.
“They had a head-on collision and the two vehicles… which were both conveying passengers caught fire and got burnt beyond repair,” he said.
He said two people “with severe burns” survived the crash and they had been taken to the hospital. A senior police officer in the state confirmed the crash, saying that “20 people lost their lives in the accident”, without giving details.
Obalowo blamed the accident on speeding and reckless driving. Accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly-maintained roads due largely to speeding and disregard for traffic rules.
In July, 30 people were burnt to death when three vehicles collided on a highway in northwest Nigeria’s Kaduna state.
