Katsina: Collapsed bridge kills 15, six missing

No fewer than 15 persons died and six others
still missing following the collapse of Gadar
Kuki bridge in ‘Yar Albasa village, along
Katsina-Kano road, as a result of heavy rainfall
in the area on Monday night.
Our correspondent, who visited the scene of
the incident, on Tuesday, gathered from
eyewitnesses that a bus carrying 23 passengers
plunged into the river, while a Pick-Up van
carrying gas cylinder also suffered a similar
fate.
It was gathered that the driver of the bus
driving on top speed applied the brakes, as he
approached the collapsed bridge to no avail,
thus plunging into the water.
According to the source, the bus coming from
Kankia on its way to Katsina was carrying 23
passengers. Bodies of 11 dead passengers were
recovered at the scene of the accident, while
four corpses were recovered in Ajiwa dam,
miles away from the scene of the accident.
Blueprint gathered that six persons from the
bus were still missing, including the driver of
the pick-up van who, according to
eyewitnesses, defied warning from the villagers
who tried to alert him on the collapsed bridge,
and one other person in the car.
One Bello Almu, a driver who arrived the
scene of the accident after the bus had
plunged, told our correspondent: “When I
arrived the place, I saw the bus floating on the
water. At that time, we could not do anything
to rescue them “.
However, with the collapsed bridge, the road
from Katsina to Kano has been completely cut
off. The other routes to Kano from Katsina now
are the Daura-Kano road, with an additional of
17 kilometres differences or the Dutsin-ma-
Kankia-Kano road.
Blueprint observed that officers of the Federal
Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were drafted to the
area to control traffic, while tree branches
were spread on the road to warn motorists.
When contacted, the sector Commander of
FRSC in Katsina, Alhaji Habu Dauda, confirmed
the incident, saying he could not, however,
verify the number of casualties from the
accident. He warned drivers to avoid driving
recklessly.