By Ernest Ndukwe
Seven journalists lost their lives on Monday evening following a fatal lone road accident in the Gombe South area of Gombe State.
The victims were reportedly returning from a wedding ceremony in the Gombe South Senatorial District, where they had gone to celebrate with a colleague who works with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Sources said the journalists boarded a bus as a show of solidarity for the wedding, unaware that the journey back would end in tragedy. Confirming the incident, the Gombe State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Samson Kaura, described the crash as severe and deadly.
Kaura disclosed that preliminary findings pointed to a possible tyre burst as the cause of the accident. “It is a lone crash, and from the information available to us, it is very fatal,” Kaura said in a telephone interview.
“We are still gathering full details, as our officers are on the ground carrying out rescue operations. However, the accident claimed several lives.” According to him, the vehicle reportedly somersaulted after the suspected tyre burst, leading to multiple casualties.
In a later update, the FRSC confirmed that 11 people were involved in the crash. Seven of them lost their lives instantly, while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment. Kaura added that rescue and investigation efforts were ongoing and assured that a detailed report would be released once the operation was concluded.
