Four pupils were killed on Monday morning after a truck carrying building materials lost control and ran over them in Egbolo, Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area of Kogi State. Several other pupils were injured.
The incident happened around 8:30 a.m. Villagers cried out in distress as they helped pull the children out from under the truck.
The pupils were said to be walking from Egbolo to Ofuloko when the truck, which was struggling to climb a hill along the Idah route, suddenly veered off and fell on them.
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Residents blocked the road in protest, saying their community has no functioning school. They blamed the tragedy on the long distances their children must trek through unsafe routes to attend classes in neighbouring villages.
A grieving parent who lost his son accused the government of neglecting Egbolo for years and called for urgent action to stop further incidents.
According to an Arise News correspondent at the scene, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps had not arrived at the time of filing this report, and some pupils were still trapped under the overturned truck.
Injured children were rushed to a nearby hospital, while the bodies of the deceased have been taken home by their families for burial.