Sixteen supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau state have died in an accident while after a zonal rally which held in Pankshin.
Over 80 others were also said to have sustained injuries when the driver of the truck conveying them lost control and crashed in a ditch.
The accident occurred on Saturday at Jwak village, Panyam district of Mangu LGA.
The spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Plateau, Peter Longsan, confirmed the incident.
According to Longsan, the truck was conveying 99 supporters of the party, adding that 83 people sustained various degrees of injury in the accident.
Longsan told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that, “It was a lone crash involving a truck conveying people from a political campaign rally of the PDP.
“Ninety-nine people were involved, 16 people, mainly adult males were killed in the crash, while 83 sustained various degrees of injury.
“The unfortunate incident occurred as a result of excessive speeding and overloading, which led to loss of control that resulted in the crash.”
The FRSC spokesperson said the injured are currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Mangu.
The Plateau State PDP governorship candidate, Caleb Mutfwang, has commiserated with the families of those who lost their lives in the accident.
Mutfwang said he would visit the victims at the various hospitals to ascertain the severity of their condition and the necessary steps to take.
The Presidential candidate of the PDP,
Atiku Abubakar, has also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
“I am numbed by the tragedy in which scores of lives were lost and injured in a road accident at the end of the Plateau Central PDP Campaign flag-off yesterday in Pankshin LGA.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims,” he said.
