Fourteen persons died at the weekend in an accident at Amasiri Secondary School junction, on the Afikpo-Okigwe road in Abakaliki.
The accident involved a truck and a 14-seater bus conveying members of the Assemblies of God Church, Isu, Ohaoazara Local Government Area, from a funeral at Arochukwu.
Fourteen occupants of the bus died instantly. Six others were injured. Ten of the dead were women.
The conductor of the truck, who gave his name simply as Ekenechukwu, said his master complained of weakness and drowsiness. He told him to park.
“My oga complained of tiredness and I told him to stop and rest but he did not agree. He said we should keep moving as it was too late to stop on the road. At a time, he said we should drive to a residential area.
“The way he drove showed he was tired. The other bus cleared for us when we hit it,” he said.
Corroborating Ekenechukwu, a resident, Amadi Kingsley, said the bus cleared on sensing danger.
“I think the truck driver was reckless because the bus driver cleared for him but as you can see, he still hit the bus and look at the result; innocent people have just died”.
Another resident, Mrs Regina Ukpa, said: “I call on relevant authorities to expedite action on reconstruction works to save innocent lives,” she said.
Afikpo Unit commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) Mr Roland Ogbuke, confirming the incident, said: “We received a distress call early morning of the accident and I mobilised rescue officers to the scene.
“Sources informed us that the driver of the truck tried to dodge a heap of sand but hit the oncoming bus, which was in a convoy.
“It crushed the bus to a tree, some metres away from the road, decapitating the bus and mangling the passengers’ bodies.
“We had to mobilise a nearby quarry company to use its heavy duty machine to cut the tree and parts of the bus to evacuate the mangled bodies.
“The police assisted us in evacuating the bodies to the Mater Misericordae Hospital, Afikpo, because our vehicle developed a fault on the way.
“We urge citizens, whose relatives did not return from a journey on Saturday, to visit the hospital to identify the bodies of their relations,” he said.
Police spokesman Chris Anyanwu said investigation into the incident had begun.
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