Four people lost their lives on Thursday in an auto crash at Wannune, in the Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State.

The accident reportedly occurred when a Toyota Hiace bus conveying 19 members of the Catholic Women Organisation lost control along the Gboko-Makurdi highway and hit a tree.

The women, who were members of the St. Francis Catholic Church, Makurdi, were said to be returning to Makurdi after attending the burial of one of their members.

An eyewitness, who did not want to be mentioned, said, “A Toyota Hiace bus conveying CWO women who were coming from a burial had an accident close to the NYSC Orientation Camp at Wannune today (Thursday).

“The vehicle was heading for Makurdi before it lost control and rammed into a tree, killing some of the occupants; many others were injured.”

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Yakubu Mohammed, who confirmed the accident, said four women died in the accident.

Mohammed said, “The crash occurred today around 11.48am. Only one vehicle was involved, a Toyota Hiace. There were 19 people in the vehicle, out of which 18 were females and one was male. So, the number of injured persons is 15, while the number of those who were killed is four.

“Both the injured and the dead were taken to St. Christopher Hospital and NKST Hospital, both in Anunne. The cause of the accident is speeding.” (The PUNCH)

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