Barely 48 hours after a deadly crash involving a truck and multiple tricycles claimed at least 36 lives in Dutse, Abuja, another tragic crash has occurred at the same spot, leaving at least four people dead and several others injured.
On Monday, April 7, chaos erupted again at the Dutse Tipper Garage Bus Stop as a truck lost control while descending from the Bwari axis and rammed into a cluster of motorcycles, tricycles (popularly known as Keke), and other vehicles.
Engineer Julius Olukunle, former chairman of Bmuko Zone F in Dutse, confirmed the latest incident to THE WHISTLER.
“Today, the truck was coming from Bwari. At the same spot —very close to where the Saturday accident happened, the vehicle lost control again and ran over a lot of bikes, keke, and vehicles. We lost so many lives,” Olukunle said.
While official casualty figures were yet to be confirmed at press time, Olukunle referred to a video showing four lifeless bodies.
“The video I saw, four persons are already dead but we will find out about the total number when I get there,” he said.
In the wake of the recurring tragedies, residents and community leaders in Bmuko are demanding urgent intervention from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The landlords’ association in the area are planning to meet with the Bwari Local Government chairman to seek immediate steps to forestall further deaths.
“We are planning to meet the local government chairman to see if there will be approval for a bus stop for us.
“We want both the chairman and the media to help us appeal to the FCT Minister to come to our aid,” Olukunle appealed.
He further said, “The very best solution to that junction is to have an overhead bridge. If there’s one, any vehicle coming from Usman Dam will go up, while those coming from Obasanjo Road and Bmuko will pass under. That will help us a lot because we are losing so many souls now.”
He revealed that the area has become a hotspot for fatal accidents, with no fewer than five major crashes recorded in the past year.
He noted that, while some caused only vehicular damage, the toll of human life is now staggering.
He said, “In the last year, the number of accidents can not be less than five. Some happen that damage vehicles without claiming life.”
Speaking on the Saturday incident, he said: “As of yesterday, 36 people were confirmed dead. They were part of those who sustained fatal injuries and were taken to the hospital. Only seven people are still alive, and they have permanent injuries. As for today’s crash, we don’t yet know how many might not survive before nightfall.”
With two deadly accidents within 48 hours, Dutse residents are calling on the FCT Minister and road traffic authorities to immediately address the design flaws and uncontrolled traffic menace at the intersection before more lives are lost.
