( Niger State Map Daily Trust)
In Essa village, Katcha Local Government Area, Niger State, five travelers are said to have been electrocuted.
Three additional people suffered severe burns as a result of the incident, which happened on Monday at around seven in the morning.
Mohammed Baba, a local resident, told our correspondent that the victims were on their way from Zaria in Kaduna State to Lagos when the truck carrying the passengers and loaded with cargo struck a high-tension wire while trying to avoid potholes.
Agaie is connected with a high-tension cable. Vehicles have previously came into contact with the same wire.
Heavy-duty vehicles frequently come into contact with one of the high-tension lines because it has become loose.
“In this particular incident, the victims were on a truck loaded with goods, and when the wire touched one of them, it electrocuted the others,” he said.
He added that both the bodies of the deceased and the injured victims were evacuated to the police station in Badeggi, where their mobile phones were used to contact their families.
Residents have called on the Federal Government to take swift action to reconstruct the road and address the dangerous power line in order to prevent further loss of lives.
When approached, Aishat Sa’ad, the Federal Road Safety Corps’ Niger State Sector Commander, promised to respond but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.