By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria
At least 20 athletes from the Kano State Contingent have been confirmed dead, following a fatal road accident that occurred on Saturday at the Dakatsalle Bridge in Kura Local Government Area of Kano State.
The athletes were reportedly returning from the National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when the vehicle conveying them fell off the bridge.
Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, Umar Fagge, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with journalists.
He said the vehicle was carrying 30 athletes when the crash occurred.
He said: “As I am talking to you now, we have counted 19 dead bodies,” Fagge said, adding that many others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
A former Vice President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ado Salisu, who also spoke on the incident, said the victims were being conveyed to Kura General Hospital, where medical personnel were attending to survivors.
When contacted, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Public Relations Officer in Kano, Abdullahi Labaran, confirmed the accident but stated that the Corps was still gathering details regarding the number of casualties.
“We just received the report of the accident, so I can not confirm the exact number of deaths or injured persons at the moment,” Labaran said.
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