16 die as commercial bus plunges into river in Ogun on Independence day

A fully loaded commercial bus plunged into Iju River
along Owode-Idiroko Road in Ado-Odo Ota Local
Government Area of Ogun State yesterday.
The accident, which involved a white 18-seater
passenger bus with registration number Epe 197 XG
was said to have taken off from Sango and was
heading towards Atan-Idiroko when the driver lost
control and the bus plunged into the river about 10.45
am, the Sun reports.
Sixteen of the occupants of the bus died while four
others suffered injuries and were taken to a nearby
hospital.
Local divers helped to coordinate early rescue
operations before the arrival of rescue agencies
including the police and officials of Federal Road
Safety Corps.
An eyewitness told Sunday Sun that the local divers
helped to recover bodies of five victims, while a
woman and her daughter were rescued.
Another victim who simply identified himself as
Taofeek was also seen at the scene with bruises on his
face.
Confirming the crash to Sunday Sun in a telephone
interview, the Head of Operations, Ota Unit of FRSC,
Mr. Tunde Odunmbaku blamed the accident on
excessive speeding.
According to him, “There were 20 passengers
onboard. Eight of them were male while the
remaining 12 were female. The accident
happened about 10.45 am due to excessive
speeding on the part of the driver.”
Bodies of the deceased have been deposited in the
morgue.