Lokoja –  No fewer than 16 people lost their lives in a road crash on the Okene-Auchi road in Kogi on Monday morning.

Mr Sunday Maku, Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) who gave the figure in Lokoja on Tuesday said the victims included nine men, six women and a baby.

Maku said that 10 other passengers, including eight men and two women, sustained various degrees of injuries.

He said that two Toyota Hiace buses marked XT 911 FKJ and XJ 700 USL traveling  in opposite direction with 30 passengers on board had a head-on about 13 kilometres from Okene in Kogi.

The commander attributed the cause of the accident to dangerous overtaking, and said that his command was alerted at about 10.30 a.m. shortly after the crash.

He added that rescue operation at the accident scene was completed by 11.00 a.m.

The commander said that corpses of the deceased were deposited at the Okene General Hospital mortuary, while the injured passengers were also being treated in the same hospital.

He called on motorists to always exercise caution and avoid excessive speeding and dangerous overtaking on the highways. (NAN)