No fewer than 18 passengers have been burnt to death in Ogbere, Ijebu East Local Government Area, along the Ijebu-Ode-Ore Expressway, Ogun State.
The lone accident involved a Toyota HiAce with number plate, XA 690AKU.
It was gathered that all the passengers were burnt beyond recognition, while 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 on Tuesday.
He said that the accident was caused by a fire from a jerry can filled with petrol.
“According to eyewitness account and this was corroborated by the driver, there was a keg full Petroleum Motor Spirit inside the bus, it fell on its 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 added that the injured driver was taken to Rona Hospital in Ijebu Ode, while the dead were deposited at State General Hospital mortuary, in Ijebu Ode.
Akinbiyi who commiserated with the families of the deceased urged drivers to avoid storing fuel in their vehicles.
