Road Accident Turns Calabar Carnival To Bloody As Seven Died, 29 Injured
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The annual Calabar Carnival took a tragic turn on Tuesday as seven people killed while 29 others also injured in a lone road traffic crash that involved a Toyota Camry.
The car, INFORMATION CARRIER gathered lost control and rammed into crowd of onlookers during the ongoing annual carnival.
The incident abruptly brought the five day activities to an end. Meanwhile, it was further learnt that the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade and other dignitaries have already seated.
The incident occurred in front of the Jumat Mosque in Bogobiri in the capital city of Cross River during the Bikers Carnival activity of the programme.
While confirming the tragedy, the state’s Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), CC Maikano Hassan, said 21 male adults, three women, two boys and three girls were injured.
He said the injured were rushed to Naval hospital and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) for medical attention, adding that the remains of the dead had been deposited in the two hospitals in Calabar.
Recall that the annual carnival which started during the administration of Donald Duke has not been held for the past two years.
The carnival was suspended in 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic while no reason was given for the carnival not holding in 2021.
According to reports, efforts were still being made to put some facilities in place for the 2022 edition of the carnival which was hurriedly put up.
Meanwhile, Gov Ayade has condoled the families of those who lost their lives and promised to bring to book the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident.
