No fewer than 20 persons on Wednesday reportedly lost their lives in a early morning auto crash at Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Reports had it that the accident occurred in the northern Edo town after a trailer conveying cement, allegedly crashed into several shops in the city centre of Auchi.

An officer at the Auchi office of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), however, confirmed that six persons died in the tragedy while 16 were injured.

Grisly viral video of the accident, showing several corpses by the roadside and the scene of the devastation has hit the internet.

An eyewitness, Mr Sani Aliu, vehemently disputed the FRSC source, insisting that there were corpses everywhere at the scene of the accident.

Sani, a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) disclosed that he arrived at the new figure after more bodies were recovered from the rubbles of the shops and under the trailer.

He said: “The scene was chaotic and looked like the site of a bomb blast. There were mangled corpses everywhere on the road when they were brought out from the buildings and under the truck.”

The road safety official said that the whereabouts of the driver and his motor boy is yet to be known as they immediately jumped out of the wreck and ran away when the accident happened.

The FRSC source said that the ill-fated vehicle which was coming from the popular garage area of the polytechnic town was descending the hill when it suddenly had a brake failure and the driver lost control in the process.

Sani, popularly referred to as Igbelela said that he was in the company of friends at the nearby Inu Umoru Street when he heard a thunderous bang.

The politician said he was speechless when he got to the scene of the accident which is popularly referred to as Igbo Shade, adding that the vehicle smashed into many shops, killing several persons and destroying goods worth several millions of naira.

He said that sympathizers have been battling for several hours in a desperate effort to pull out corpses from the rubbles of the collapsed buildings and under the chassis of the vehicle.

The eyewitness disclosed that several persons who were injured in the morning fatal auto crash have been rushed to different hospitals in Auchi and neighbouring Jattu for treatment and are presently battling for their lives.

Sani said: “Auchi is in deep mourning. Early this morning, the driver of a trailer conveying cement lost control as a result of break failure and crashed into the popular Igbo Shade, killing several persons which included traders and buyers. Over 20 persons are feared dead and several are still trapped in the collapsed buildings. The sigh is gruesome. My heart bleeds.”

(Daily Independent)