It was a black Saturday in Ebonyi as a bus fully loaded with passengers plunged into a mining pit located at Enyigba community in Abakaliki LGA of Ebonyi State.
It was gathered that the bus took off from the popular motor park known as Ochi-Udo motor park located along Afikpo road in Abakaliki, capital of the state and heading for Ikwo.
The number of passengers are yet to be identified at the time of filing this report but it is believed that the occupants of the vehicle may have died in the accident.
A reliable source told our correspondent that the bus reached Enyigba community where people were mining and the driver lost control of the steering and it plunged into a pit filled with water.
An eyewitness who equally spoke with our correspondent said the occupants of the bus were still inside the mining pit, adding that up till now, “the bus and the dead bodies were yet to be recovered due to the level of water inside the pit.”
An eyewitness, Akachukwu Offia, a lecturer at AEFUNAI said no help was forthcoming from the company which owns the mining pit despite appeals from him and other commuters.
He said: “A vehicle fell into a pit. Driving from Abakaliki a little distance away from a mining company some minutes ago, I observed a white car driving along the same direction.
“And suddenly, the car fell into one of the mining pits full of water and just very close to the road. It was like a dream to me while I followed the car a little distance away from behind.
“I quickly stopped other vehicles from both sides to observe the true position of the accident and while we observed more closely, we noticed the waves rippling the water due to the impact of the vehicle but could not sight the car nor the passengers.
“I quickly rushed with another private car owner to the mining company to report the accident and seek for urgent rescue but they could not render any immediate help.”
Ebonyi State Police command PPRO DSP Loveth Odah when contacted confirmed the incident.
She said the police contacted local divers who tried all their best to recover the vehicle or its occupants but were not successful.
