27 Killed As Cattle Truck Plunges Into Sokoto River

At least 27 people on a truck laden with cattle and sheep have drowned after the vehicle plunged into a river in northwest Nigeria, a road safety official said on Wednesday.

The accident occurred on Monday in a remote part of Sokoto State and details of the disaster did not immediately emerge.

Umar Aliyu of the state’s road safety commission said the truck driver and his assistant were among the 20 people who survived the crash.

“There was an accident on Monday involving a truck in which 27 people died and scores of livestock perished,” Aliyu told AFP.

He said the driver lost control of the vehicle near the village of Masallaci before it plunged into the river, blaming the crash on the high speed of travel and excessive cargo.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has one of the worst road accident records in Africa, with poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving conspiring to kill thousands every year. [AFP]