A newly married man and four others reportedly died in an auto crash that occurred in Aponmu village in Akure South council area of Ondo State along Akure /Ondo highway.

The 18-seater bus marked Lagos AAA 859 XC in which they were travelling in from Lagos plunged into the Owena river, killing them instantly.

The spot of the crash is about ten kilometers to Akure, the state capital which was their destination before the crash.

The newly wedded man, who travelled in the same bus with the wife identified as Adewale died before the rescue team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) arrived the scene of the accident. However, the wife was lucky as she only reportedly sustained injuries

The couple, it was learnt were at Ikoyi Registry on Saturday and were coming down to Akure for the traditional wedding scheduled for this weekend, Saturday before the ugly incident.

The driver of the bus according to report also died in the crash. Eyewitnesses told newsmen that the driver lost control of the vehicle while on top speed while it was raining.

According to the source, “if not for the speed, the driver could have controlled the bus from plunging into the river which is about 25 feet deep.

”After the accident, the passengers were trapped inside the bus deep down in the river because people could not jump inside the river.

”It took almost an hour after the accident that help came and five persons including a five year old boy were rescued and rushed to the hospital for treatment. The eyewitness also attributed the late response to the rain. He told newsmen that the vehicle landed on a rock inside the river and the impact was great on the vehicle and the hit the rock at the bottom of the river, causing great damage to the vehicle and responsible for the death of the casualties recorded.

The remains of the deceased persons have been deposited at the morgue.

Officials of the FRSC while pulling out the damaged bus from the river caused traffic gridlock on the Akure /Ondo highway for hours.

Contacted, the image maker of the FRSC in the state, Mr. Abiola Fadumo, confirmed the accident. Fadumo however said that the number of casualties could still not be confirmed as the rescue operation was still on as at 5:30 pm last night