Edo State Sector command of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) said that it had rescued six persons alive and two others dead from a commercial bus that plunged into the Ovia River in the state on Thursday evening.

Mr Cyril Mathew, Edo sector commander, FRSC, who disclosed this said more passengers were still trapped inside the river. Mathew added that divers had been contacted to recover the passengers trapped in the river.

He said FRSC began the rescue mission on Thursday and had continued till Friday.

According to him, “Six people were rescued alive, while one was recovered dead yesterday. Another body was recovered dead today (Friday). Unfortunately, the chances of survival of the remaining passengers in the river are slim, given that the accident occurred yesterday (Thursday) evening,

“We have engaged divers to help recover the bodies and negotiations are ongoing. The divers are asking for N2 million to carry out the recovery,” he said.

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He said the accident occurred at about 4:20 pm on Thursday when a bus traveling from Lagos and heading to Port Harcourt veered off the highway and plunged into the river.

He said, “according to passengers who survived the crash, the driver lost control of the bus after experiencing brake failure and in a desperate attempt to avoid colliding with vehicles in front, the driver veered into the opposite lane, leaving the Ore-Benin-Lagos route and crossing over to the Benin-Ore road.

“However, due to the speed of the vehicle, the driver was unable to regain control, causing the bus to hit a pavement and plunged into the river.”