Many dead as task force vehicle crashes into tipper in Anambra

 

No fewer than eight operatives attached to the Anambra State Special Anti-Tout Squad have been feared dead and others injured after their vehicle rammed into a tipper fully loaded with sand.

The accident occurred along the Onitsha-Owerri Road axis of Oba in the Idemili South Local Government Area of the state on Friday.

Our correspondent gathered that the driver rammed into the tipper as it was driving out of a junction during their daily stop-and-search operation.

According to eyewitnesses near the scene, about eight persons were in the branded Toyota Hiace bus conveying the anti-tout operatives before the accident occurred.

Speaking to our correspondent, one of the eyewitnesses, who identified herself simply as Chinwe, and who lives in the area, said, “The branded Toyota vehicle had about eight young men as the occupants and running at full speed before ramming into the tipper fully loaded with sand.

“The operatives were on their routine stop-and-search operations when they rammed into the tipper which was coming out from another junction of the road.

“After the accident happened, the occupants of the vehicle were trapped, and passers-by were the ones bringing out their bodies, and more than four lifeless bodies littered the road while those injured were rushed to the hospital.

“The incident has caused panic on the road as motorists and residents battled in the traffic caused by the situation. The accident happened this morning(Friday).”

A video is currently circulating on social media showing the scene of the accident and lifeless bodies littering the road while bystanders and passers-by undertake rescue operations.

The personnel of the state command of the Federal Road Safety Corps are yet to make an official reaction.

However, when contacted, the Public Relations of the FRSC in the state, Margaret Onabe, said she was contacting their personnel around the area to ascertain the actual position of the incident