Auto crash kills teacher, injures pupils

An auto crash involving teachers and pupils from Bayelsa has claimed one life and injured several people on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

The Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Dr Sam Ngwu, confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Thursday.

Ngwu said the accident occurred at Ugwu Onyeama, near Enugu at about 8.45 p.m. on Wednesday.

He said the incident involved 40 people, including pupils whose ages ranged from seven to 15 years, who were on an excursion to the Ngwo Forestry in the Udi Local Government Area.

“The victims were on excursion to Enugu State. Their bus fell into a gully and many of them sustained multiple fractures, lacerations, cuts and swellings on their faces."

“Some of the victims were immediately taken to nearby hospitals in Ngwo, following the intervention of the State Government."

“One of the teachers died in the process, which is a miracle, considering the severity of the accident,” the commissioner stated.

Ngwu said that the State Government on getting the information from the state’s emergency management agency deployed four ambulances to rescue the victims.

“Eleven persons were severely injured. Ten of them were later transferred to the National Orthopedic Hospital, while others were moved to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.”

Ngwu said that the Bayelsa commissioner for health had been notified of the incident and was on his way to Enugu to see the victims.

The Enugu State Commissioner for Information, Dr Godwin Udeuhele, lamented the deplorable condition of Enugu-Onitsha highway, saying that many lives had been lost on the road.

“We urge the Federal Government to expedite its intervention on that road to minimise loss of lives and property,” Udeuhele said.

The Spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, Mr Ebere Amarizu, was not available to comment on the incident.

He neither picked his calls nor responded to text messages sent to him.