No fewer than eight persons reportedly escaped death by a whisker after they were involved in a multiple-vehicle accident on Sunday at Ikpoba Hill on Murtala Muhammed Way in Benin City.
DAILY POST gathered that five persons sustained various degrees of injuries in the accident, while three others escaped unhurt.
It was learnt that the accident involved six vehicles, including a tanker.
The accident was said to have occurred when the tanker, said to be conveying groundnut oil, allegedly suffered brake failure while descending the hill from the Ikpoba Hill/Ramat Park axis of the road and rammed into other vehicles.
The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Preye Ezekiel Bedford, who confirmed the incident, said no life was lost in the accident.
Bedford said eight persons were involved in the accident, five were injured, while the others escaped unhurt.
An eyewitness, Mr Ken Omusi, said the accident was caused by brake failure.
Omusi said the tanker driver, after the brake failure, attempted to control the vehicle but lost control after hitting a pothole at the Ikpoba River Bridge section of the road.
He added that the tanker veered off its lane and rammed into other vehicles, resulting in a multiple collision.
He said the injured persons were rushed to hospital for medical attention.
He said emergency responders, including personnel from the Edo State Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, police and fire service, later arrived at the scene to assist with the rescue operations and control the situation.
Another eyewitness, Kayode Folorunsho Ogedengbe, said he was at the scene when he heard people shouting and turned to see the tanker crashing into other vehicles.
Ogedengbe explained that the tanker first hit a Toyota Corolla, which subsequently collided with another vehicle, causing further damage.
He also put the number of damaged vehicles at six, including the tanker and an Eco bus.
He said some of the victims reportedly had to be pulled from beneath the damaged vehicles.
The incident was reported to have caused major disruption to traffic in the area as motorists were forced to navigate the affected section of the road.
Edo: Eight persons escape death by whisker, five injured, three unhurt in road crash