The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says five persons were killed and 13 others injured in a truck accident in Tashan Gona, Billiri LGA of Gombe state.
Samson Kaura, FRSC sector commander in the state, said the incident occurred at about 7:20 am on Easter Monday, after a truck laden with grains crashed into worshippers returning from the prayer ground.
Kaura said out of the 18 persons involved in the crash, two male adults and three females were killed, while 10 female adults and three male sustained varying degrees of injuries.
He noted that the accident was caused due to speed violations on the part of the truck driver, adding that the bodies of the deceased have been deposited to a nearby morgue.
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Buhari Abdullahi, the police spokesperson in Gombe, said angry residents set the truck ablaze, “in an attempt to lynch the driver”, but was rescued by the police.
Abdullahi added that the operatives have restored calm in the area, and that the truck driver has apprehended.
“For now everything is calm and motorists are now plying the route and there is no cause for panic,” NAN quoted Abdullahi as saying.
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This is the third time in six years that a similar incident has occurred in the state.
In 2019, a vehicle crashed into a procession of Christians celebrating Easter along the Gombe-Biu road, resulting in the deaths of about eight people and injuring 31 others.
More recently, on December 25, 2024, a vehicle carrying bags of rice veered off the road and rammed into a Christmas procession in the Tumfure area, leaving 22 people injured.
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