3 dead, 23 injured as bus plunges into Lagos river

 Emmanuel Udom

Tragedy occurred Friday morning as three people reportedly lost their life and twenty three others reportedly sustained fatal injury when a luxurious bus they were travelling in plunged into the Majidun River in Owode Elede area of Lagos.

The bus marked: Anambra GDD 386 YE belonging to GUO Transport Service Company Limited, our correspondent gathered was to be en-route Maza Maza in Lagos from Aba, Abia state.

The bus was said to have skidded off its track while on top speed and plunged into the Canal at Owode Elede, before Mile 12. Ikorodu Road.

The bus with 59 passengers on board had 23 people injured and were treated on the spot by a joint team of LASEMA Paramedics and LASAMBUS.

Confirming the incident south west zonal spokesperson of the National Emergency Management, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye stated that the incident happened around 3:00 am in the morning.

He added that some people are said to have walked out immediately after the incident before the arrival of emergency agency.

Also General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Agency, LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu stated that agency received a distress call at about 3.23 am today 17/2/2017 via the emergency toll free number 767/112 concerning an accident involving a Luxurious Bus.

He said, "According to preliminary investigations conducted at the incident scene it was revealed that the bus skidded off the road as it was approaching the majidun bridge.

"Nine out  of the treated victims were taken to the Lagos State Trauma Centre at the Toll Gate for further treatment, while 2 adult male and 1 female which include the motor boy were recovered dead from the canal.

"The three dead bodies and their belongings were handed over to the men of the Nigeria Police, Owode Division," he said.

Tiamiyu affirmed that a proper investigation would be conducted on the incident. He however advised motorist to be safety conscious and avoid excessive speeding while driving especially when embarking on night journeys.

The response and recovery operations was coordinated by LASEMA in conjunction with LASTMA, LASAMBUS, Lagos State Fire Service, RRS, Task Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, FRSC, NEMA, among others.