No fewer than 13 school children suffered severe burns in the early hours of Wednesday when their school bus suddenly caught fire in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The children, aged between five and 11 years, were pupils of Divine Wisdom Group of Schools located at Amosun, Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The driver of the bus, Mr Serif Oyedele, told news men that he was conveying the children to school when the vehicle suddenly stopped working at Iyana-Church area.
Oyedele said he pleaded with the older pupils to assist in pushing the bus, having discovered that it had flat battery.
“ After I checked and discovered that the bus had a battery problem, I told some of the older ones among the children to assist me in pushing it.
“ But while pushing the bus, they told me that fuel was dripping from underneath the vehicle. As I tried to open the engine, flames emerged from the vehicle.
“ That was how the whole bus got burnt. It was when I was trying to rescue the children that I also got burnt in the hand and leg, but I was able to rescue seven pupils before people joined me,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 13 children in the bus suffered severe burns while those pushing the vehicle escaped unhurt.
NAN also reports that the injured pupils were later carried in a commercial cab and motorcycles to the University College Hospital (UCH) for proper medical attention.
Anxious parents around Wakajaye, Iyana-Church, Maku and Amosun communities besieged the scene of the incident to ascertain the condition of their wards.
Mrs Oke Ejemuta, the proprietress of the school, who had rushed to UCH on learning about the incident, said the Ford bus was bought last year.
She said the driver, who was also a mechanic, was specifically employed to tackle any mechanical fault in the vehicle.
“This is certainly an arrow, but God is in control,’’ she added.
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which kind arrow? Mrs Proprietress, go an get a good bus to carry peoples children in.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous.....lol..... what can I say...but we are West Africans by default..always superstitious.... bedeviled by old age traditions and all.. Thank God no child died though so we can laugh about this..aint funny to be a bereaved/bereaving parent... like the man said..Madam go buy bus....
ReplyDeleteDidn't u hear that 13 children were severely burned? What's so funny about that? I don't think u have any kids of ur own otherwise u'll understand that this can change the life's of those involved forever! Buying a good bus is not the solution becos it can happen to a brand new one....thank God no life was lost and I wish the injured children a quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteWell said my dear. Thank God no life was lost. It could actually might have also happened to a brand new car. We are not ignorant of the adversaries of the evil one. May God continue to protect His people. I wish those innocent children quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteI think what we should be doing now is praying for those children and not un -neccessary critism
ReplyDeleteMost of the school buses i see in IB are too old,i wonder y some parents still allow their wards or children in such a bus,God will grant d children quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteArrow ke! Thank God no lives were lost. the driver was brave to stand and help the kids some drivers would have ran away. I wish the kids a quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately lives were lost.Very sad.Lets learn to take responsibility by doing all we are supposed to do .You guys havent seen the kind of buses school children ride in.Mr 'lol Anonymous'.dont be quick to assume when you dont have full details.
ReplyDeleteMr 'dont you have kids of your own' Anonymous our lol friend was right about the superstitious mind of West Africans (esp Nigerians).Its more harmful and does more damage than we will ever know.
Its the reason why a lot of you abdicate responsibility.
This is a wake up call to all school owners... take responsibility for those left in your care.