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Posted by Ignatius Okpara
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Wednesday, February 18th, 2026
(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Enugu state Police Command and sister agency, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have confirmed the death of 11 passengers in a road mishap where a gigantic tree fell on two commercial buses at Awhum, 9th Mile-old Nsukka road in Udi local government area of the state.
Spokesman of the State Police Command, SP Daniel Ndukwe in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday confirmed the tragic incident.
According to him, “the incident involved a large tree that fell at the Awhum Village/Market Square on two vehicles: a Toyota Hiace bus and a Sienna minivan, killing eleven (11) passengers.
The two vehicles were parked at the market square during a heavy downpour that took place Tuesday evening, pointing out that upon receiving the report, operatives attached to 9th Mile Division swiftly responded and, with the assistance of community members, rescued four persons trapped in the vehicles and secured the scene.
“Regrettably, the eleven other victims were rushed to the hospital but were later confirmed dead by attending doctors.
“Their remains have been deposited in the mortuary for further necessary procedures,” he said.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the vehicles had conveyed passengers from Old Park, Enugu, and were heading to various villages within the Awhum/Okpatu axis.
“They stopped to drop off passengers when the tree, weakened by heavy rainfall, strong winds, and apparent internal decay, collapsed on them,”.
He added that the Commissioner of Police, Bitrus Giwa has commiserated with the families of the deceased and the entire Awhum Community over the unfortunate incident and advised community leaders and residents across the state to regularly inspect and maintain large or aging trees around markets, motor parks, schools, and residential areas, particularly during the rainy season, to prevent similar tragedies.
On his part, the state Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr Franklin Agbakoba, who also confirmed the disaster, said that the road mishap happened at about 9:20p.m.
“The road mishap involved 13 persons in total, which included: 11 female and two male.
“Unfortunately, 11 lives were lost at the spot, which included: 10 female and one male; even before 17 minutes response time on which the FRSC night rescue team navigated the terrain to the spot.”
Agbakoba, who is a Core Commander with the FRSC, noted that the commercial Toyota Hiace bus stopped for passengers to alight when the tree fell on it.
“The Sector Commander said that the FRSC night rescue team had deposited the dead victims at the Ekochin Hospital Morgue, 9th Mile Corner near Enugu.
“While the villagers obliged with their Mythco Chainsaw to cut the fallen tree.
“Subsequently, the Enugu State Traffic Management Agency (ESTMA) Heavy Duty Tow Truck was activated to the crash scene and pulled away the heavy tree branches blocking traffic flow.
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