Fifteen persons have died while 5 others seriously injured in an auto crash that occurred in Kogi, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says.

The accident was a collision between a J-5 Boxer Bus and a Petroleum Tanker, at Koton-Karfe along Lokoja-Abuja highway around 7.30am on Tuesday.

Kogi FRSC Sector Commander, Corps Commander Stephen Dawulung who confirmed the incident, said that the 5 injured persons were rushed to a hospital at Koton-Karfe for immediate medical attention.

Dawulung said that the corpses of the other victims have been deposited at the Morgue of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja.

The Sector Commander explained that the cause of the crash was due to sheer violation of traffic rules by the bus driver, who was driving against traffic while heading to Abuja from Lokoja.

“The bus driver left his lane and was driving in the opposite direction on high speed only to have a head on collision with an on coming petroleum tanker.

“Thank God the tanker which was laden with Petroleum product did not go up in flames, which could have been more devastating and worrisome.

“The unfortunate thing is that the bus was conveying iron cramps with 17 passengers, 15 of which were terribly squeezed and chocked to death during the collision,” he narrated.