11 dead, three injured in Lagos auto crash

LAGOS—Three females  and eight males died when a 14-seater commercial bus had brake failure, somersaulted and burst into flame at about 5p.m. yesterday at Otedola Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It was learned that the 14-seater bus was heading to Berger from Mushin, when it had a brake failure, somersaulted and caught fire immediately. Confirming the accident, the state Police Public Relations Office, Dolapo Badmus, Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe and General Manager Lagos State Emergency management Agency, LASEMA, Mr. Michael Akindele, disclosed that the bus burst into flames. Fadipe noted that the 14-seater bus caught fire while on motion and landed on its door, thereby trapping the passengers. Also, Badmus disclosed that survivors have been rushed to the hospital for further treatment. According to her, “the vehicle, which was on speed, suddenly lost control when the tyre burst and subsequently tumbled three times before it went up in flames. “Investigation revealed that the driver of the vehicle escaped the inferno and fled the scene immediately. “Policemen and fire fighters were on ground to put off the fire and clear the obstruction the accident might have caused,” she added.