By Kolawole Ojebisi
The 2025 National Sports Festival is one Kano sports contingent will not love to remember for its tragic culmination.
This is as 20 of its athletes bristling with life and vigour suddenly met their untimely death in a fatal motor accident at Dakatsalle Bridge in the Kura Local Government area of Kano State.
The athletes were returning from the just concluded National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to the Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, Umar Fagge, the exact number of casualties could not be ascertained as of press time as many other athletes sustained various degree of injuries apart from those who lost their lives in the fatal accident on Saturday.
While shedding light on how the tragedy happened, Fagge explained 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.
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.
