by S’ola Filani

15 persons died in an auto crash at Ewu hill along the Benin-Auchi Road when a truck crashed into an 18-seater Toyota Hiace passenger bus yesterday.

Only three passengers survived the crash.

The accident which caused a gridlock for several hours occurred when the truck, loaded with a consignment of beer, reportedly had break failure and rammed into the commercial bus with Registration Number LFA 137 XB.

It took the combined efforts of the men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to evacuate the survivors and the dead bodies from the mangled bus.

Meanwhile, sympathizers at the scene have appealed to the relevant authorities to find lasting solution to frequent auto crashes on Ewu hill, saying several lives have been lost since the construction of the road in 1973.