LAGOS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen people died and 38 were injured in a road accident in Faskari in Katsina state, northwest Nigeria on Friday, a local road safety official confirmed on Saturday.
Godwin Ngeuku, state commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), told Xinhua over the phone that the accident involved a Mitsubishi Canter vehicle.
He said a preliminary investigation revealed that the driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle while speeding, skidded up the road, somersaulted and killed some passengers instantly.
He said the vehicle was on its way to neighboring Sokoto state and was carrying about 57 passengers when the incident occurred.
The road official said the injured persons are being treated at a government hospital in the state.
Ngeuku urged drivers to reject overloading, speeding and continue to abide by the traffic rules and regulations as part of measures to avert crashes on the highways.
Deadly road accidents are common in Nigeria, often caused by overloading, bad road conditions and reckless driving.
According to a FRSC report, there were 9,383 road traffic crashes reported in 2017 across the country, of which 2,587 were fatal and killing a total of 5,121 people.
