Gateway Games: 21 Kano athletes perish in road crash

Not less than 21 athletes from Kano Contingent have lost their lives to a ghastly motor accident at Dakatsalle Bridge in the Kura Local Government area of Kano State.

The athletes were allegedly returning from from the just concluded National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, Umar Fagge, who confirmed the incident, noted that many other athletes sustained various degree of injuries following the fatal accident on Saturday.

He said that the bus conveying 30 athletes fell from the bridge, leading to the death of the 20 athletes.

“As I am talking to you now, we have counted 19 dead bodies,” Fagge said.

Similarly, Ado Salisu, a former Vice President of SWAN, said victims were still being conveyed to Kura General Hospital.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Kano Sector Command, Abdullahi Labaran, also confirmed the accident.
He however said that he could not confirm the number of deaths and injured persons.

“We just received the report of the accident, so, I cannot confirm the exact number of casualties at the moment,” he added.