At least 20 athletes from the Kano State contingent have been reported dead following a road accident at the Dakatsalle Bridge in the Kura Local Government Area of Kano State.
The victims were returning from the recently concluded National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when their bus reportedly fell off the bridge.
Umar Fagge, Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, confirmed the incident, noting that several other athletes sustained injuries.
“As I am talking to you now, we have counted 19 dead bodies,” Fagge said. The number was later updated to 20.
He stated that many other athletes sustained various degrees of injuries in the fatal accident on Saturday.
He explained that the bus, carrying 30 athletes, fell from the bridge, resulting in the death of 20 of them.
Ado Salisu, a former Vice President of SWAN, added that victims were still being transported to Kura General Hospital.
When contacted, Abdullahi Labaran, Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Kano Sector Command, also confirmed the accident but could not immediately provide the exact number of fatalities or injured persons.
“We just received the report of the accident, so, I cannot confirm the exact number of casualties at the moment,” he added.
