Consequently, neighbours and relatives of some missing persons have been plunged into confusion over the whereabouts of their own.
All occupants of the ill-fated bus were said to be heading home from the monthly Holy Ghost Service which is held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, on Lagos/Ibadan Expressway; around 4am yesterday when the accident happened.
The truck driver, Sunday Sun learnt, wanted to overtake the bus but instead, when the accident happened, crushing the occupants.
Although the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) reported that five persons died while three survived the accident yet, the whereabouts of some occupants of the bus, dead or alive, remains unknown, plunging their relatives and neighbours into disarray.
The five corpses recovered by the agency were moved to the morgue in Ikorodu General Hospital while the three survivors, two men and a woman were rushed to the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre, Toll Gate, Ikeja.
While nosing around the emergency centre, our correspondent approached a group of five men who had apparently come to look for their own.
Upon quizzing the men who disclosed that they were all neighbours to the driver and four children on the bus, one of them, who would not mention his name, said “They were coming from church. Every first Friday of the month which is the monthly Holy Ghost Service of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mr Charles takes his two children and two children of his neighbours to the camp.
When we got a call that they were involved in the accident at Ojota, we immediately started making calls and moving everywhere to know their whereabouts.
As I speak to you, we have been to Ikorodu where they said dead victims were taken and we were made to see five corpses but neither Mr Charles nor any of the four children was there. We have also been to LASUTH and we were told that two people were brought in. One died and one survived but we couldn’t still find our people there.
Another neighbour said “Everybody on that bus is known to us. They went to the Redemption Camp and we got a call that they had been involved in an accident.
That’s why we have been moving all around hospitals and morgues but then, it appears that they distributed the corpses and survivors across different morgues and hospitals in the state”
Sunday Sun gathered that the said Mr Charles and the four children he traveled with might have been dead too as some sympathizers that besieged the scene of the incident kept screaming “Where is Mr Charles? Where is Mr Charles?” Charles, was an Assistant Pastor in RCCG and lived at Gbagada with his family.
Medical attendants on duty would not speak to Sunday Sun, claiming that such is “against the rules without authorization ”. However, our correspondent quizzed a police officer, who reliably spoke in the capacity of an eyewitness, although on condition of anonymity.
“The accident happened around 3:30am and that was almost exactly the time we came from Alausa Police Station.
We started rescuing the victims and discovered that only three survived, out of all”, he said.
Shortly after, one of the victims who cheated death in the fatal accident, stepped out from the emergency hall, limping. Ifeanyi, as he simply introduced himself, narrated to our correspondent how it all happened.
“We were coming from Camp. Right now, I don’t have an idea of where the rest are, but I can only say that the driver and all the children on the bus with us died instantly. The lady beside me was sleeping but she was lucky, like me”,he said.
LASEMA reacts
Sunday Sun gathered that the Agency’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) received a distress call regarding an accident at Ojota bus stop which prompted the immediate activation of the Agency’s ERT to the scene of the incident.
According to the General Manager of LASEMA, Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, “Investigation carried out by the ERT at the scene revealed that an articulated truck with registration number AKD 663 KF conveying 40ft container laden with plywood fell on a Volkswagen commercial bus (Danfo) with registration number FST 944 XR where the passengers were trapped.
“The prompt intervention by the LASEMA Response Unit led to the rescue of three victims who were taken to the Trauma Centre Toll Gate, while 5 dead bodies trapped in the bus were extricated by the LASEMA team and were taken to the mortuary at Ikorodu General Hospital.
“Other agencies on ground included the Nigeria Police Force led by the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni; Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Sunday Sun Report
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