Benin, Nigeria – The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Edo, says rescue efforts are ongoing to recover more passengers and a bus that plunged into the Ovia River in the state on Thursday evening.
Mr Cyril Mathew, Edo sector commander, FRSC, said six persons were rescued alive, two dead bodies recovered while more passengers were still trapped inside the river.
Mathew said on Friday in Benin that divers had been contacted to recover the passengers trapped in the river.
He said the FRSC began the rescue mission on Thursday and had continued on Friday.
“Unfortunately, the chances of survival of the remaining passengers in the river are slim, given that the accident occurred since Thursday evening.
“We have engaged divers to help recover the bodies, but negotiations are ongoing. The divers are asking for N2 million to carry out the recovery,” he said.
He said the accident occurred at about 4:20 pm on Thursday when a bus traveling from Lagos and heading to Port Harcourt veered off the highway and plunged into the river.
“According to passengers, who survived the crash, the driver lost control of the bus after experiencing a brake failure.
“In a desperate attempt to avoid colliding with vehicles in front, the driver veered into the opposite lane, leaving the Ore-Benin-Lagos route and crossing over to the Benin-Ore road.
“However, due to the speed of the vehicle, the driver was unable to regain control, causing the bus to hit a pavement and plunged into the river.
