By Patrick Ahanor
Benin
No fewer than eight roadside beggars were Tuesday crushed to death by a truck laden with granite along Auchi-Okene road in Edo State.
Besides, four other commuters were feared dead in the accident that involved several vehicles and commercial motorcycles at the ever-busy express road.
Blueprint learnt that the beggars’ casualty was higher because most of them were blind, making it difficult for them to run for safety.
The incident which occurred in Auchi, headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area of the state, also left scores of other severely injured.
Eyewitnesses said the tragedy occurred when a truck, with registration number Kaduna XA 173 AG, lost control and rammed into three vehicles and four commercial motorcycles at the expressway at about 7.45pm.
The witnesses, however, attributed the accident to break failure on the part of the truck.
Operatives of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Auchi who were involved in the rescue operation conveyed the dead bodies to an undisclosed hospital morgue while the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
