30 Killed, 16 Injured In Sokoto Auto Crash

No fewer than 30 persons were feared dead yesterday in Sokoto State after a trailer truck veered off the road along Ruwa Wuri Tangaza road in Tangaza Local Government Area of the state and plunged into a river. The Daf trailer, with registration number Sokoto XA 443 XAA, was said to have been fully loaded with travellers and livestock and heading for Warri, Delta State, from Mano Village before it ran off the tracks and into a river near Masallaci Village in Tangaza LGA, about 100 kilometres from Sokoto metropolis.
Confirming the incident, Sokoto State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Umar Aliyu Gummi, said that 27 persons died at the spot.
He attributed the accident to over-speeding and advised drivers to be more cautious and to adhere to driving laws to save both themselves and their passengers.
LEADERSHIP finding revealed that no fewer than 80 persons were said to have boarded the crashed vehicle. Some of them were said to have come from Bagida, Sabiyo, Tinnigere, Ruwa Wuri and Tsoni villages of Tangaza local government.
A survivor of the crash, Hassan Sahabi, who is receiving treatment at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, said that apart  from the over 80 passengers, there were several livestock as well.
He further said that two of the casualties brought along with him had died while others were seriously injured, with fractured bones and bruises all over their body. According to him, the number of deaths could have been more.
One of the victims whose leg was heavily bandaged at UDUTH, Mallam Amadu Mohammed, said they were on their way to sell livestock as the festive period approaches. According to him, he was hoping to sell the livestock to raise money to fend for his wife and 10 children.