Five rescued as bus plunges into river in Ebonyi

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Five persons were on Friday rescued at Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State as a ‘608’-model bus plunged into Akaeze-ukwu River, NAN reports.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Commander in Ebonyi, Mrs Stella Uchegbu who confirmed the incident to newsmen said the accident which involved a bus and an articulated vehicle had 38 passengers on board.

Uchegbu said that reports reaching her desk indicated that the rescued victims were unconscious and were taken to the hospital.

“We can, therefore, not confirm if any person is dead or not and the FRSC team (Ishiagu unit) is still at the scene for rescue efforts.

“The Afikpo unit team is, however, on standby in case any major thing ‘breaks’ this night to give back-up to the staff at the scene.

“There are, however, two versions of the incident as one held that the articulated vehicle tried to overtake the bus which made it (the bus) to lose control and another held that it was the bus which actually tried to overtake.

“There was no report of collision by both vehicles but the bus just lost control at the bridge and plunged into the river.

“We have not ascertained whether the bus was fully loaded or if the passengers observed COVID-19 social distancing but divers from the area managed to rescue five persons,” she said.

She further revealed that someone called to inform that his brother and wife were still trapped inside the river but the divers said they couldn’t continue because it was dark.

“God is alive, and he can still preserve the victims,” she added.