At least 19 passengers lost their lives after a commercial bus carrying a bride and wedding guests plunged into a river while attempting to cross a damaged bridge between Gwalli village and Gummi town.
The victims were traveling from Fass village in Gummi Local Government Area to Kebbi State to present the bride to her husband following the wedding ceremony.
Eyewitnesses reported that the driver, unfamiliar with the area, tried to navigate the collapsed bridge, which villagers had temporarily patched with sandbags and stones. Unfortunately, the bus slipped and overturned into the river.
Ishiak Ahmed, an eyewitness, stated that the bus skidded off the makeshift crossing, causing several passengers to drown.
A relative of the victims, Usman, added that the bus was overloaded and had scraped against the rocks placed to fill the washed-out section of the bridge, prompting the driver to stop and check the vehicle.
“The bride and a few others stepped out of the bus, but while the driver was still outside, the vehicle suddenly lurched to the side, overturned, and plunged into the river,” Usman recounted, adding that 19 people died in the incident.
Reacting to the tragedy, the Deputy Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Adamu Gummi, who represents Gummi II Constituency, described the incident as heartbreaking.
He lamented that the bridge had been left in disrepair for over five years despite repeated appeals for its rehabilitation.
“The people have used over 2,000 sandbags to patch the bridge, yet lives continue to be lost every rainy season,” Gummi lamented.
In a statement, the Sector Command’s Public Education Officer, Isah Aliyu, explained that the accident occurred after the bridge, which had collapsed earlier in the week, gave way despite temporary repairs carried out by residents using sandbags and stones.
He further cautioned motorists to exercise greater caution, urging them to avoid night journeys, refrain from overloading vehicles, and always seek up-to-date information on road conditions before embarking on any trip.
