A female prospective Corps Member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has been confirmed dead following a fatal road accident that occurred yesterday.
According to sources, the accident involved an Enugu North Mass Transit bus conveying the victims, which allegedly rammed into a parked truck beside the road, leading to the death of the young woman.
The deceased prospective corps member was among a group of 12 prospective corps members in a 14-seater bus traveling from Enugu to the Ebonyi NYSC orientation camp located in Afikpo town, Afikpo Local Government Area, for their three-week orientation course.
They are believed to be part of the 2024 Batch C Stream II set of corps members who resumed camp the same day.
The female corps member, whose name could not be ascertained, reportedly succumbed to her injuries, while her colleagues and other passengers sustained varying degrees of injuries.
They were rescued by residents and security agencies from the mangled bus and rushed to the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), where they are currently receiving treatment.
A source said: “Corps members had an accident while going to NYSC camp. The accident happened at Amenu community in Okposi. A female corps member died.
“The bus is a 14-seater with 12 of them being corps members. Others sustained injuries.”
A source at the hospital confirmed that the accident victims were brought there.
“Yes, I saw them in the evening. They were brought by security officials. They are responding to treatment,” the source said.
Reacting to the incident, the Ebonyi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Igwe Henry, confirmed the accident.
However, he stated that he had no details of the casualties as the victims were rescued before his officers arrived at the scene.
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He said: “By the time our men from Amasiri Unit Command got the information and arrived at the scene, the victims had already been rescued. They didn’t directly carry out the rescue operation and, therefore, could not ascertain the specifics of what happened.
“However, the crash occurred on January 22 at around 2:00 p.m. The route was Amasiri-Okigwe, near a place called Amenu village in Okposi.
“Two vehicles were involved: a Toyota commercial bus, grey in color, and a Mercedes-Benz tipper truck.
“From preliminary findings, it appears excessive speed on the part of the commercial bus may have caused the crash.
“But the exact details regarding the number of injured victims have not been ascertained because, as I mentioned, the victims were rescued by bystanders and taken to David Umahi Hospital in Uburu.
“The items recovered at the scene are reportedly in the custody of one Chief Amos of Amenu village in Okposi.
“At King David’s Hospital, where my men visited, the victims they saw were in stable condition,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Coordinator of NYSC, Foluke Oladeinde, also confirmed the accident.
Visibly in a state of shock, Mrs. Oladeinde confirmed the incident but refrained from providing further details.
“I am not in the right frame of mind to talk now. I am in the hospital. Yes, the accident occurred, but I can’t speak further at this moment,” she said.
