Five persons died while several others sustained injuries in an accident involving a transit bus and a tipper around Orogwe market bus stop in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State.
It was gathered the luxurious bus owned by the Lords Chosen Ministry was transporting church members from Lagos State to Owerri for a program.
An eyewitness, Daniel Iwu, said the tipper was coming out of a bend when the bus, which was traveling at a fast pace, attempted to avoid it.
He added that the tipper struck the bus from behind, causing it to crash into the roadside culvert.
According to him, the tipper’s conductor and driver died on the spot, while the bus crushed three people who were waiting to board vehicles at the bus stop.
However, the bus driver was said to have survived.
Iwu said, “The accident is between a long coaster bus carrying members of the Lord’s Chosen, and a tipper. The two vehicles were coming from Onitsha to Owerri but the coaster bus, in an effort to overtake the tipper, now collided with it and immediately lost control.”
One of the survivors of the incident said, “We were many in that vehicle, I don’t know if it’s full or not but our loads are also inside. We were going to our church program in Owerri when we had this accident.
“A lot of people have been taken to the hospital, most of them were removed from under the bus.”
