Not less than 21 persons, including school children, perished Wednesday afternoon in an auto crash at Mgbowo in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
They were pupils of the Presentation Nursery and Primary School, Awgu, operated by the Catholic Diocese of Awgu, Enugu State.
The pupils were crushed when a truck belonging to a construction firm rammed into the school bus when it failed break.
It was learned that the deaths included nursery primary and secondary school children. The bus was carrying a total of 52 people, including teachers.
Enugu Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr. Ogbonna Kalu, confirmed the incident and attributed it to a mechanical fault, explaining that the accident occurred while the children were returning from school.
“As I speak with you, 21 persons have been confirmed dead and more than 50 persons were in the school bus.
“Also of note is that not all the dead were schoolchildren. Those working on the roadside were part of the casualties.
“From available information, the accident was caused by dangerous driving,” Kalu explained.