Auto crash in Cross River kills five, injures 24

An auto crash in Ogoja LGA of Cross River has left five persons dead and 24 injured.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed the incident to NAN on Saturday.

Abdullahi Hassan, FRSC sector commander, said the crash which happened in the afternoon involved a Mercedes Benz Tipper conveying 31 passengers to a funeral.

Hassan said the driver lost control of the vehicle after it had a burst tyre.

“Among the victims were 29 male adults, one female adult, and one female child,” NAN quoted the sector commander as saying.

“Out of the 31 passengers, 24 male adults got injured, two passengers were not injured, that is one female adult and one female child, while five male adults lost their lives in the crash.

“Three of the corpses were taken to the mortuary while those injured were taken to the General Hospital Ogoja by FRSC officials.

“The other two corpses were retrieved by their relatives at the scene of the accident.”

The incident comes days after six persons were confirmed dead in an accident that occurred along the Calabar-Ogoja highway.

Hassan said it was a result of wrongful overtaking.

Road accidents leading to deaths have become regular occurrences on Nigerian roads, as thousands of people die annually from auto crashes in Nigeria.

According to Statistica, more than 11,800 road traffic casualties were reported in Nigeria during the fourth quarter of 2021 alone.

Also, Dataphyte reported that road traffic crashes claimed 41,709 lives between 2013 and 2020.