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More light has been shed on the way five members of the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association and their driver died in a car crash.
Recounting how the accident occurred, one of the six survivors of the accident and the NMA Chairman, Dr. John Akinbote, in an interview with our correspondent said, “There was no premonition that the accident would happen because we were in high spirit during the journey. We were so hopeful.”
Akinbote said the delegation had thought of passing the night in Abuja but later decided to proceed to Kaduna.
“There was a debate over whether we should pass the night in Abuja or Kaduna, but since we got to Abuja around 3 p.m that day, we decided to continue with the journey to Kaduna so that we could continue the journey from there the next day. We were lively.
“We were about 70 km from Kaduna when we heard a loud noise and realised our rear tyre had burst. Before we could think of what to do, we already faced the road divide. The driver tried to control the situation but we hit the divide and the car somersaulted about five times due to the impact. I saw myself hanging downward in the car, I removed my seatbelt and ran out of the car in shock. When I got out I discovered it was a fatal accident.”
The Vice President, Association of Resident Doctors at FETHI, Dr. Bamidele Atiba, who also survived the accident described the accident as a terrible one.
In a separate interview with our correspondent, Atiba said the doctors tried all they could to ensure a smooth journey.
He said, “Before embarking on the journey, we ensured that the vehicle was in good condition and changed the necessary parts. We had a smooth journey until the unfortunate accident.”
Recalling how some of the victims died, Atiba said he managed to crawl out of the vehicle and saw that a few of my colleagues were already out.
“Two others came out after me. I think what happened was that the vehicle flung out six of our members while somersaulting and five of them died on the spot from severe head injury and multiple fractures except one professor who fell on his buttock. He was lucky he had a minor injury.”
Akinbote said more lives could have been saved if the FRSC Rescue Team had trained personnel and equipment to resuscitate the injured.
Corroborating, Atiba lamented that rescue did not come to the victims until about 45 minutes after the accident.
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Source: Punch News