The FUTO hiace bus with over 18 passengers moving from FUTO to Owerri, Mbaise road precisely, suddenly erupts fire from the front right tyre of the first passengers' seat.
This cripple incident occurred at about 2:45pm, yesterday afternoon along Ihiagwa-Nekede road, immediately after Ihiagwa divisional police station.
FUTO INFOSCOPE media team was also on the bus, going for a function at FPNO.
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At first, when the driver was alerted by a fellow driver as regards the kind of smoke coming out from the front tyre by the passenger side of the bus, he claimed that he greased his wheel that afternoon and that it was only a reaction from the sun.
At a certain point, the tyre lit on fire, and passersby were able to spot the fire and started shouting to alert the passengers. The created a scene that the bus was about to explode, which led all the passengers struggle for life.
Caution was thrown to the wind as passengers were fighting for their lives.
The passengers tried opening the right entrance door of the bus, only to find out that it was jammed. Then the nearest exits was through the windows of the bus and some were broken in order to create an exit for the passengers.
We never knew that some FUTO students has diving abilities. The way students dived through the windows of the bus was marvellous.
In the course of the struggle to escape the purported explosion, some passengers sustained minor cuts and injuries on various parts of their bodies.
We are very grateful to God that nothing bad happened to us all yesterday.
This is a call to all bus drivers, not only in FUTO, but in everywhere institution that they should minimize the use of old buses in transporting Nigerian Students.
They should do well to increase their maintenance check up because from our assessment of the bus yesterday, that bus is poorly maintained.
"Safety comes first before any thing, even money making" because when there is life, there is hope.
Thank God no life was lost
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