12 die in Cross River auto crash

By Emma Unah

CALABAR — No fewer than ten market women and two others were reportedly killed in a road accident while returning from a local market in northern Cross River State.

The women, the bus driver and his assistant (conductor) lost their lives weekend when the bus conveying them and their goods was involved in a head-on collision with a truck at Iwuru community along the Calabar–Ikom Highway.

A resident of the area, who identified himself as Ohubu Okam, told Vanguard that the incident was devastating, saying “It is so disheartening that over ten market women and two others, (driver and conductor) lost their lives in that accident at Iwuru Saturday afternoon,” he said.

Okam disclosed that relatives of the victims have been contacted to report at the General Hospital in Akamkpa, where the bodies were deposited, for identification.

“Some of the women were badly crushed in the accident. Their relatives have been asked to identify them through their clothing,” he added.

Also reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of Akamkpa Local Government Area, LGA, Mr. Daniel Agbor, described the incident as “mind-boggling,” lamenting the poor condition of the road.

He noted that the about 80-kilometre stretch of the Calabar–Ikom Highway is severely dilapidated and has become a recurring site of fatal accidents, calling for urgent government’s intervention.

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