An unidentified vehicle on Saturday plunged into a mining pit at Enyigba community in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi, the Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed.
DSP Loveth Odah, the command’s Public Relations Officer, made the confirmation on Saturday.
Odah told the News Agency of Nigeria in an interview that the police responded swiftly to the distress call received over the incident.
Odah said that local divers were immediately contacted to rescue occupants of the vehicle, but they could not succeed due to poor visibility as the incident happened in the night.
She said: “Available reports suspected that the driver lost control of the vehicle and fell into an unclaimed mining pit, which was water-logged due to constant rainfall.
“We will continue with the rescue efforts on Sunday and will hopefully access more equipment.”
Odah said the number of passengers inside the vehicle was still not ascertained as the relevant state government agencies had been contacted.
Anthony Okore, the Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps in Ebonyi State, also confirmed the incident to NAN and noted that personnel were also deployed to the scene of the incident.
Okore said: “We contacted the relevant government agencies to assist us with a crane in rescuing the victims, but the rescue process will continue on Sunday.
“The type of vehicle and the number of passengers involved still remain unverified.”
Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha, the state Commissioner for Internal Security, told NAN that efforts had been intensified to rescue the trapped victims.
Okoro-Emegha said: “We have arranged for a crane to continue with the rescue process because the one being used by the state Ministry of Works had a minor fault.
“We have ordered that it should be repaired immediately as the incident was sudden and unfortunate.”
He expressed surprise over the suspected loss of control by the vehicle’s driver, which led to the plunge, considering the protective pillars that barricaded the pit.
An eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed he was driving behind the vehicle when it suddenly veered from the road and plunged into the pit.
NAN recalls that over 20 persons died in September 2020 when a bus they were travelling in plunged into the Akaeze River in Ivo Local Government Area of the state.