Seven feared dead in Abuja crash
No fewer than seven persons were feared dead on Saturday in a fatal road crash at the Dutse Tipper Garage Bus Stop in Abuja.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as horrific, with mangled tricycles, shattered windscreens, and bloodied belongings strewn across the busy intersection.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the accident involved a heavy-duty truck and several commercial tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep.
According to residents and passersby, the truck, which reportedly suffered a brake failure, lost control and rammed into the tricycles waiting to pick up or drop off passengers at the bus stop.
“The truck came speeding from the top of the hill and couldn’t stop. It rammed into the tricycles and crushed the passengers. Some died instantly,” an eyewitness said.
Emergency responders, including officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the National Emergency Management Agency, arrived at the scene shortly after the crash and worked alongside sympathisers to evacuate the victims to nearby hospitals.
In a video uploaded to Facebook and seen by our correspondent, mangled bodies littered the accident scene, while people could be heard wailing and struggling to rescue those still trapped in the wreckage of the tricycles.
The heavy-duty truck responsible for the carnage was also seen, upturned.
While authorities had yet to release an official casualty figure as of press time, multiple sources at the scene confirmed that seven lifeless bodies were pulled from the wreckage.
Several injured victims were reportedly taken to hospitals in Gwarinpa and Kubwa for medical attention.
An FRSC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak, confirmed the incident to Sunday PUNCH, adding that investigations had commenced to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.
The Dutse Tipper Garage bus stop, considered a notorious traffic flashpoint in the Federal Capital Territory, has witnessed multiple accidents in the past, largely due to its chaotic layout and poor traffic control.
