Seven newly ordained pastors of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Oyo town, Oyo State, have died in an accident in Ogbomoso, on Ogbomoso-Oyo road.
The driver of the bus conveying them, a retired primary school teacher and two children also died in the accident, which occurred last weekend.
The deceased were said to be travelling from Oyo town to the seminary for the ordination of their colleague when the accident occurred.
It was learnt that a tanker trailer on a high speed from the North lost control after overtaking another vehicle and rammed into the church’s Toyota Urvan bus conveying the clerics and the other passengers.
All the passengers, except the mother of the two children, died in the accident, which occurred few metres to the venue of the event.
The Nation learnt that the woman sustained severe injury and is receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
Eyewitnesses said men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had a hectic time removing the trailer from the top of the bus.
The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at a mortuary. The Nation learnt that they would be interred today.
Motorists and other road users plying the Oyo-Ogbomoso road have urged the state Traffic Management Authority to pay attention to check frequent breakdown of trailers and other heavy duty trucks on the highway.
They noted that heavy duty vehicles hinder free flow of traffic.
The Nation investigation revealed that at least five heavy duty vehicles break down on the road each week.
Besides, they are usually left on the road for weeks, thus creating hardship for road users.
The situation becomes most dangerous at night, when motorists without a good knowledge of the road run into the broken down vehicles.
Many people have died in multiple accidents on the road, due to the carefree attitude of the owners of broken-down vehicles.
Properties worth several millions of naira have also been destroyed in accidents on the highway.
Motorists and residents expressed worry over the spate of accidents at the T-junction at Owode, Oyo town. There, trailers and lorries, especially petrol tankers going to the North from Ibadan, the state capital, usually negotiate the sharp bend.
On both sides of the junction are banks and a filling station.
Thus, the area is a danger zone, a threat to the lives and properties of the residents.
