20 burnt to death, 5 injured in Ife-Akure road crash

No fewer than 20 people were burnt to death in a road accident that occurred yesterday, when two 18-seater buses collided and caught fire at Iwaraja-Ijesha junction along Akure-Ife Road in Osun State.

 According to an eyewitness, an 18-seater bus, which was heading probably for Ekiti State or Iwaraja swerved from its lane to avoid hitting a motorcyclist, who was allegedly being pursued by officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission and hit the on-coming bus belonging to Akoko-Edo council, said to be coming from Igarra.
 The eyewitness added that the two buses caught fire immediately trapping passengers and drivers.

 Five passengers were said to have managed to escape the inferno but got seriously injured and had been rushed to hospital.
 Efforts of passers-by to quench the fire ended in futility, as the inferno claimed the lives of most of the passengers before men of the Osun State Fire Services came to the scene.
 From CHARLES ADEGBITE, Ado-Ekiti