About 21 persons, including school children, died Wednesday afternoon in an auto crash at Mgbowo in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
They were pupils of the Presentation Nursery and Primary School, Awgu, operated by the Catholic Diocese of Awgu, Enugu State.
The pupils were crushed when a truck belonging to a construction firm rammed into the school bus when it failed break.
Multiple claims show that that the dead included nursery primary and secondary school children.
The bus was carrying a total of 52 people, including teachers.
Enugu Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr. Ogbonna Kalu, confirmed the incident and attributed it to a mechanical fault, explaining that the accident occurred while the children were returning from school.
“As I speak with you, 21 persons have been confirmed dead and more than 50 persons were in the school bus.
“Also of note is that not all the dead were schoolchildren. Those working on the roadside were part of the casualties.
“From available information, the accident was caused by dangerous driving,” Kalu explained.
Buhari mourns
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the deaths.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, the President particularly commiserated with the Catholic Church of Awgu, the operators of Presentation Nursery and Primary School, which pupils were killed in the crash.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is saddened by the gruesome vehicle accident in Mgbowu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, in which scores of people died, most of them school pupils.
“The President condoles with families and kith and kin of the dead, praying that God will grant them succour, and spare the country of such tragedy in future.
“He also commiserates with the Catholic Church of Awgu, which runs Presentation Nursery and Primary School that the pupils attended, and the Enugu State government.
“President Buhari enjoins vehicle owners to ensure road worthiness, as initial reports attributed the accident to brake-failure by the truck involved,” the statement said.
