Update on Ibadan accident: 7 confirmed dead in autocrash.

7 of the pupils that were badly injured in
a school bus fire accident that occurred
on Wednesday in Oyo state, have passed
away.
The Chairman, Medical Advisory
Committee of the University College
Hospital, UCH, where the pupils are been
treated, Dr. Biodun Otegbayo, says the
other children are in a critical condition,
while the school (Divine Wisdom Group
of Schools), has been closed down
temporarily by the proprietress, Mrs Oke
Ejemuta, to mourn the deceased and
allow parents gain psychological
balance.
The Oyo State Sector Commander of the
Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC)
Godwin Ogagaoghene, who confirmed
the death toll, criticised the kind of
buses being used by private schools.
According to him, school buses should
have two exit doors which makes entry
and exit easy for school children. He
added that vehicle owners should
always have fire extinguishers in their
vehicles, because if the school bus had
one, the situation would have been
prevented.
The Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi,
who also confirmed the death toll after a
visit to the hospital, ordered the
immediate release of N6m to buy of all
the equipment needed to treat the
children
Our previous report
15 pupils between the ages of 5 and 11,
of Divine Wisdom Group of Schools,
Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo State
were badly injured on Wednesday
when a school bus conveying them to
school suddenly caught fire.
The bus driver, Mr. Serif Oyedele, who
had his hand and leg burnt, stated that
the mishap occurred when the engine
of the bus (Ford) suddenly stopped
working after picking up the pupils from
the bus stop. “As a mechanic, I checked
the engine to rectify the problem… After
I checked and discovered that the bus
had battery problem, I told some of the
older ones among the children to assist
me in pushing it but while pushing they
told me that fuel was dripping from
underneath the vehicle. As I tried to
open the engine, fire just started. That
was how the whole bus got burnt.”
Those pushing it escaped unhurt, while
the others were trapped in the bus. “It
was when I was trying to rescue the
children that I also got burnt in the hand
and leg but I was able to rescue six of
them, including my five-year-old child
who sat beside me in front of the bus.”
he said.
All the pupils were later carried in a
commercial cab and motorcycles to the
Accident and Emergency Unit of the
University College Hospital, (UCH), Ibadan
for proper medical attention.
The Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Oke
Ejemuta, who was said to have ordered
the closure of the school, said “…We
thank God…that they are all responding
to treatment. It is the arrow of the devil.
You can confirm from the parents, we
bought the school bus (a J5 bus) last
year, so it is a new vehicle. We hired the
service of a driver-mechanic so that he
can deploy his experience anytime there
is need for it. We want to implore the
parents to be calm.”