Five passengers burnt to d3ath as bus catches fire in Ebonyi

At least five people were burnt beyond recognition when a bus filled with passengers caught fire in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

It was gathered that the incident happened along the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, near the G-hostel junction on Thursday night, October 24, 2024. 

It was not immediately clear where the bus came from into the city.

Sources said the bus came into the state around 20 minutes past midnight when it caught fire.

The spokesperson of the State Police Command, Joshua Ụkandu, who confirmed the incident said the vehicle ran into some obstacles on the road placed by a maintenance team renovating some bad sections of the road, and then it caught fire.

The PPRO confirmed that five people were burnt to d@ath.

According to him, seven other passengers suffered severe burns and were receiving treatment at the hospital.

“The incident happened around 00:20hrs. There are some bad spots on the road where some reconstruction is ongoing. The driver may not have been aware and so ran into the obstacles on the road and lost control,” he stated. 

“The vehicle caught fire immediately after it ran into the obstacles, and five persons were burnt to death while seven others were rescued with severe burns and rushed to the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, where they are receiving treatment.”