By Chimdiogo Amuh 

No fewer than 18 persons have been confirmed dead following a fatal road accident in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed the incident on Tuesday through its state spokesperson, Corps Route Commander Yahaya Ibrahim, who spoke in Dutse.

According to him, the crash occurred at about 12:15 p.m. at Danmasara village along the Dutse–Kwanar Huguma road and involved two Volkswagen Golf vehicles and a tipper truck.

Ibrahim said the accident was caused by excessive speeding, a tyre burst, and loss of control.

“Twenty persons were involved in the crash. Eighteen of them, including children, lost their lives, while the tipper driver and his assistant sustained injuries,” he stated.

He added that the injured victims and the bodies of the deceased were evacuated by FRSC rescue operatives and taken to Dutse General Hospital.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the tragedy comes barely days after the FRSC confirmed the death of 11 persons, with 12 others injured, in a lone auto crash that occurred on December 25 along the Ringim–Sankara–Beguwa road in Ringim Local Government Area of the state.

That incident also involved a Volkswagen vehicle and was attributed to tyre burst and excessive speeding.