There was panic in the Idimu area of Alimosho Local Government, Lagos State, on Wednesday after a mini commercial bus transporting a corpse for burial was involved in a road accident.
The incident, which occurred around 10 a.m., left at least five individuals- three women and two men, with varying degrees of injuries.
Reports indicate that the deceased was being conveyed from Ejigbo to Ikotun in a funeral convoy comprising three commercial minibuses and a Toyota Space Bus.
Trouble started when the brake system of the bus carrying the corpse reportedly failed as the procession approached the Idimu bus stop. The malfunction caused the driver to lose control and crash into another vehicle in the convoy.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, with mourners rushing to assist the injured and secure the coffin amid the wreckage.
One of the witnesses, who gave her name as Foluke, confirmed that both drivers involved in the crash sustained injuries.
She said, “Some buses were picking up passengers on the layby when a minibus suddenly crashed into another one. The impact caused some of them to fall off the vehicle, and they got injured.
“At first, we thought it was an accident between two buses that had passengers inside them.
“It was when we moved close that we discovered that they were heading for burial when we saw a corpse inside one of them. The occupants were also seriously injured.”
The driver of the bus transporting the corpse explained that the vehicle had earlier developed a mechanical fault during the trip, but they decided to continue the journey after a temporary fix.
He said, “On our way coming from Ejigbo, the bus developed a fault midway and started moving slowly. It later started working normally again, and while we approached Idimu to connect to Ikotun, I discovered that the brake was no longer responding. That was how I lost control and crashed the bus ahead of me. I wasn’t expecting this terrible incident today.”
Several injured individuals were seen sitting on the bare ground as concerned residents rendered first aid at the scene.
A visibly distraught female passenger, nursing a leg injury, clung tightly to the corpse inside the damaged bus.
A food vendor operating near the accident site, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that at least three of the victims appeared to have suffered broken legs.
“About three people had broken legs in the accident. It took the intervention of the people around who rescued them because their legs were trapped in the seat of the bus. The one who got flung out of the bus waiting to pick up a passenger was among them,” she disclosed.
Some mourners leading the funeral convoy had driven a considerable distance before noticing the absence of the bus carrying the corpse.
One of them, who quickly returned to the scene after receiving a distress call, recounted, “We were already approaching Council bus stop when we realised they were no longer following us. It was only after making a call that we found out there had been an accident.”
Meanwhile, the injured victims were promptly evacuated and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the corpse was transferred into another vehicle to continue the journey.
