20 athletes from Kano State that participated in the just concluded 22nd National Sports Festival, Gateway Games held in Ogun State have died in a ghastly road accident.
The unfortunate accident happened at the Dakatsalle Bridge in the Kura Local Government area of Kano State.
The athletes who were returning from Abeokuta after participating in the Gateway Games had less that 1hour to arrive Kano city haven travelled by road for over 24hours perished when their Toyota Coaster bus with 30 athletes fell off the Dakatsalle bridge and plunged into the river.
The Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, Mr. Umar Fagge, confirmed the incident when he spoke to the Punch newspaper on Saturday.
Fagge explained that as at Saturday morning 19 corpses have been pulled out from the wreckage, while many others were critically injured and have been taken to the hospital where they are battling for their lives. “As I am talking to you now, we have counted 19 dead bodies,” Fagge told Punch.
The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kano Sector Command, Abdullahi Labaran, also confirmed the accident in a chart with journalists.
According “We just received the report of the accident, so, I cannot confirm the exact number of casualties at the moment,” the FRSC spokesman confirmed.
FACTSHEET gathered that the accident could have been caused due to tiredness as the driver of the bus had been travelling for over 20hours without resting.
More details coming…