Seventeen people have been confirmed dead after a commercial bus conveying a bride and her relatives plunged into a river in Zamfara State.
The incident occurred on Saturday along Gwalli Road in Gummi Local Government Area when the bus attempted to cross a collapsed bridge that had been temporarily patched with sandbags and stones.
Eyewitnesses said the driver, unfamiliar with the terrain, lost control as the vehicle slipped off the makeshift passage and overturned into the river.
While the bride and a few passengers who had stepped out earlier survived, 17 bodies have so far been recovered, with two others still missing.
Confirming the tragedy, the Zamfara State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said the victims were mostly women traveling from Fass village to Kebbi State for the continuation of wedding ceremonies.
The FRSC spokesperson, SRC Isah Aliyu, explained that the collapse of the improvised crossing led to the disaster. He cautioned motorists to avoid night travel, desist from overloading, and always seek updated information on road conditions before embarking on journeys.
Sunday Buna Ibrahim is a seasoned journalist with Daily Frontier (dailyfrontier.com.ng), where he reports on security, conflicts, and humanitarian issues across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, particularly Plateau and Benue States. He also serves as a News Producer at Vision FM Radio in Abuja. Prior to joining Daily Frontier, he worked with Radio Nigeria, Fombina FM Yola in Adamawa State between 2019 and 2020.
