Sani Tukur

A multiple crash involving 12 cars on Karu Bridge in Abuja on Thursday left one person dead and six others injured.

The dead victim was a commercial motorcycle rider.

The injured victims are currently receiving medical attention at the Asokoro and Nyanya General Hospitals.

“The crash occured when a lowloader carrying an escavator had a bursted tyre and ran into a lorry which eventually crushed an okada rider who died instantly,” Bisi Kazeem, Deputy Corps Public Education Officer, explained in the official Facebook page of the Federal Road Safety Commission.

“The escavator fell on the road causing multiple collission of about eleven vehicles. FRSC rescue operatives are still clearing obstruction to ensure free flow of traffic.” he added.

One of the Vehicle Inspection Officers conducting rescue at the scene said no fewer than ten vehicles were damaged beyond repairs.

Witnesses confirmed that one person died on the spot while many others received various degrees of injuries were taken to Nyanya and Asokoro general hospitals.

Many people leaving the city centre to Nyanya/Maraba were forced to abandon the vehicles they were travelling in and then trekked the long distance from AYA to Nyaya.

The Nyaya/Kugbo road has of late witnessed a lot of accidents, often with high casualty rate.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed, had after a similar accident last year issued a directive that all heavy vehicles plying the road in the evening be made to park along the AYA axis until after the usual hold ups are cleared.

A combined team of Vehicle Inspection Officers and FRSC officials enforced the directive until recently when they stopped.