Entire family, 20 others perish in accident

Tragedy struck weekend in Akwa Ibom State as a man, his wife and all their children, as well as more than 20 others, all members of the Jehovah’s Witness Church, perished in a fatal road accident, Friday, along the Utu Etim Ekpo road in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of the state leaving 40 other members with varying degrees of injury.

According to the report, the driver conveying 70 members of the church to the venue of the convention lost control of the vehicle hitting stones used to construct the roundabout, causing the lorry to somersault.  

The corpses and those injured in the accident were said to have been taken to neighbouring hospitals and mortuaries.

The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in the state, Mr. Godsgift Uwen, blamed the incident on over-speeding and overloading by the lorry driver.

He said the lorry was not supposed to carry any passenger as it was meant for goods only but the driver stubbornly used it as a passenger’s vehicle, which led to the sad incident.

He advised against rush and drunken driving, especially in the yuletide, noting that these are some of the major causes of accidents on the roads. (Credit: Thisday)