It was a black Democracy Day celebration in Bayelsa State yesterday as no fewer than 18 students died in a head-on collision between two 18-seater commercial buses.
The incident occurred at about 8:03pm on Amassoma Road in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
The deceased’s bodies have been deposited at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital in Okolobiri.
Over 11 injured occupants of the buses are currently receiving medical treatments at a private hospital in Yenagoa, the state capital.
It was learnt that an expectant mother was among the survivors of the crash.
An eyewitness, Mr. Inaikozia Fumgbe, said the accident was caused by one of the 18-seater buses, which was on its way from Yenagoa to Amassoma, as the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle.
According to Fumgbe, the bus, which he claimed did not have functional headlamps, collided with an oncoming bus.
When our correspondent visited the scene of the crash, carcasses of the two buses were seen on the spot.
The buses were marked Rivers KNM 141 SA and Rivers SP 269 KPR.
Governor Seriake Dickson, who was represented by his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd.), at the 14th Democracy Day celebration in Yenagoa, assured residents that the blackout being experienced in the state would be over next week.
However, a 40-year-old woman, Mrs. Chinyere Celestine, and her four children were killed by generator fume in their apartment at Azikoro village, near Yenagoa.
The deceased are all indigenes of Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Sources said the woman lost her twins, while one of her children and niece who survived the incident, are receiving treatments at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
Investigations revealed that the woman and her children were suffocated by the generator fume.
The woman and her children just relocated to their private residence a couple of weeks ago.
Efforts to speak with the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Vincent Jack and the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Alex Akhigbe, failed as they did not pick their mobile phones when our correspondent dialed their lines.
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