Three persons have reportedly lost their lives in a fatal auto crash that occurred at the notorious Onyeama Hills axis of the Enugu–Onitsha Expressway on Saturday morning.
The crash involved several vehicles, including a black Toyota Sienna bus conveying journalists who were reportedly on an official assignment to Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area in Enugu State.
Some of the occupants of the vehicle, including crew members from the African Independent Television (AIT) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Among the affected journalists are NTA reporter and Chairman of the NTA Chapel, Chimaroke Ugwu, alongside his cameraman, Jerry; as well as AIT reporter and Secretary of the Private Broadcast Chapel, Kelechi Ehirim, and his cameraman, Ifeanyi Ogbodo.
The identities of the deceased were yet to be confirmed as of the time of filing this report. However, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Police were at the scene carrying out rescue operations. The Onyeama Hills stretch of the highway is widely regarded as a high-risk zone due to its steep terrain and frequent accidents.
Reacting to the incident, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Enugu Council, Comrade Obinna Ogbuka, sympathised with NUJ members who sustained various degrees of injury and thanked God for saving their lives.
Comrade Ogbuka, while expressing dissatisfaction over the repeated loss of lives at the Ugwu Onyeama axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, called for the speedy completion of the ongoing reconstruction work on the road to reduce such incidents. Authorities are expected to provide further details as investigations into the cause of the crash are still going on.
