Eight Schoolchildren Escape Death As Container Falls On Cars In Lokoja
Eight schoolchildren narrowly escaped death on Thursday when a 40-foot container fell on two vehicles in at Lokongoma market in Lokoja. The FRSC boss confirmed that all eight children were rescued alive and rushed to Kogi State Specialist Hospital for medical attention. An eyewitness, described the incident as a miracle.
c.Blessing 
Eight schoolchildren narrowly escaped death on Thursday when a 40-foot container fell on two vehicles in at Lokongoma market in Lokoja.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander in the state, Samuel Oyedeji, the incident occurred around 5:30 pm. The container,which was not properly secured,fell off a trailer and landed on a Toyota Corolla and a Nissan car. The eight schoolchildren were occupants of the Nissan car. They were returning from an end-of-term party when the accident happened.
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Oyedeji attributed the cause of the accident to brake failure and improper securing of the container.“ The truck lost brake when it couldn’t climb the Lokongoma small hill and began to roll backwards. As it rolled back,it hit one of the parked cars,which made the container which wasn’t properly latched fall on the two vehicles and trapped the eight children inside one of the vehicles,” he explained.
The FRSC boss confirmed that all eight children were rescued alive and rushed to Kogi State Specialist Hospital for medical attention. He also revealed that the driver of the trailer had fled the scene but assured that the FRSC would apprehend him. Oyedeji emphasized the need to relocate markets away from the road to prevent similar occurrences.
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An eyewitness, John Adama,who owned the Toyota Corolla, described the incident as a miracle. "I am the owner of the Toyota Corolla car, which was one of the two vehicles that were smashed by the container. I parked the car in front of my shop with nobody inside the car, but all of a sudden, I heard a big sound."
"The trailer had a failed break,and started coming backwards, then dragged my car and the other car along, before its container now fell on the two cars. There were eight school children inside the other car, but thank God they were all rescued alive. It was my own car that held the container from compressing the children in the other car; it was indeed a great miracle," he said
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
