Over 30 persons have been critically injured in an accident that occurred along Enugu/Abakaliki expressway near the boundary between Enugu and Ebonyi state.
An eyewitness said the accident occurred when the driver of an 18-seater bus travelling from Abakaliki to Enugu tried to avoid a police checkpoint and collided with another Hiace bus going the opposite direction.
Rev. Fr Stephen Nnorom of the Catholic Diocese of Buya Cameroon who was among those that rescued the victims and conveyed them to hospitals, described the accident as tragedy and regretted the attitude of some sympathizers who could not volunteer their vehicles to evacuate the victims to hospitals.
He advised motorists to always obey law enforcement agencies at the road to avert road accidents.
Two other eyewitnesses, Mr. Chinonso Okeke and Mr. Ifeanyi Igwe blamed the police at the checkpoint for the accident and explained that it would have been prevented if the two drivers were patient.
But another eyewitness, Mr. Chukwudi Maduabuchi disassociated the police from the accident but blamed the drivers for their recklessness.
A federal road safety special marshal, Macks Nnaji, who assisted in rescuing the victims, said though the accident was caused as a result of the road block, however cautioned motorists to always apply caution in the ember months.
He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that the ban on all road blocks was implemented in the south east region.