A total of 18 passengers were burnt to death in Ogbere, Ijebu East Local Government Area along the Ijebu-Ode/Ore Express way. The lone accident involved a Toyota Hiace, with registration number XA 690AKU.

While all the passengers were burnt beyond recognition, the driver escaped with injuries. The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the death of the 18 passengers in a statement in Abeokuta yesterday.

He said that the accident was caused by a fire from a jerry can filled with petrol. “According to eye witness account and this was corroborated by the driver, there was a keg full Petroleum Motor Spirit inside the bus, it fell on it’s side when the vehicle got to a failed portion of the road.

“The PMS poured on the floor of the bus and later dropped on exhaust pipe and caused the vehicle to catch fire on transit,” he said.

He said that the partially burnt driver was rescued to Rona Hospital in Ijebu Ode, while the dead were deposited at State Hospital Mortuary, Ijebu Ode. Akinbiyi who commiserated with families of the deceased, urged drivers to avoid storing fuel in their vehicles.