25 die in Bauchi auto crash – Police

The police in Bauchi said on Thursday that 25 persons were burnt to death in an auto crash along Bauchi- Ningi Road in Bauchi State.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Abubakar Kamal, made this known in a statement in Bauchi.

Mr Kamal said the accident, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday, involved two vehicles; a Peugeot J5 Bus and a Toyota 18-seater Hummer bus.

The Toyota bus was conveying 22 passengers while the J5 bus was carrying 20 cows and four passengers.

He said that all the 26 passengers from the two vehicles sustained serious burns.

“The victims were immediately evacuated from the scene by security agents with assistance of good samaritans to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi for treatment.

“Unfortunately, on reaching the hospital, 25 passengers were confirmed dead by the Chief Medical Director, Dr Mohammed Alkali, while one survived and is receiving treatments.

“Investigation has revealed that all the passengers inside the Toyota Hummer bus took off from Dutsinma in Katsina State on their way to Adamawa State while the passengers inside the J5 bus were from Bauchi going to Kano State,” Mr Kamal said.

He said that four corpses from the J5 bus were immediately identified by their families and released for burial.

The remaining 21 corpses of those the Toyota Hummer bus are yet to be claimed, the official said.