No fewer than five personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and 15 other civilians died on Tuesday in an auto crash at Hawan Kibo in the Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.
This was announced in a press statement issued by NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Olusola Akinboyewa.
The statement reads: “The unfortunate incident occurred around Hawan Kibo along the Jos-Akwanga Express Road.
“Our personnel were heading for a sporting event in Abuja when their vehicle collided with an oncoming truck.
“Consequently, statutory administrative protocols applicable in circumstances as this have been activated by the NAF to provide comfort and succour to the bereaved families.”
A spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state, Peter Longsan added that the accident involved an 18-passenger Hiace bus travelling from Yola through Jos to Abuja ran into a stationary articulated vehicle on the highway leading to the death of the driver and all the 18 passengers.
Longsan blamed the tragedy on high speed which led to the impact of the bus on the articulated vehicle, leaving no survivor.
He stated that the manifest recovered from the vehicle indicated that 18 passengers were on board alongside the driver of the ill-fated vehicle.
He said the remains of the victims have been deposited at a mortuary and FRSC personnel have cleared the wreckage of the vehicles from the highway
