By Nkechi Eze
On Wednesday, 19th March 2025, at approximately 19:00 hrs, NEMA’s Abuja Operations Office received a distress call about a major road crash along the AYA-Karu Expressway. The accident involved a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) truck that lost control and crashed into another truck. The crash resulted into fire that subsequently impacted on several other vehicles with significant damages.
The FRSC, as the lead agency, was already at the scene due to the proximity of their Zebra base.
NEMA’s Search and Rescue Team, along with emergency response vehicles, including an MICU ambulance, were mobilized. Additional coordination was handled by Director search and Rescue DSAR to ensure strategic deployment of backup teams. Multiple agencies, including FRSC, Federal Fire Service, NSCDC, NPF, the military, FCT Emergency Management Agency, and FCT Fire Service, collaborated to extinguish fires, extricate trapped individuals, and evacuate the injured to hospitals.
The crash involved 16 cars and 2 trucks.
Six fatalities were confirmed, while the number of injured persons is yet to be determined. The injured victims were taken to National Hospital, State House Clinic, Karu General Hospital, and Customs Clinic Karu for medical attention.
The major challenge during the response was traffic and crowd control, which caused delays in accessing the scene, especially for the MICU ambulance.
After the successful evacuation of affected persons and the clearance of the road for normal traffic flow, the DSAR officially handed over the scene to the Police at 23:48 hrs. On behalf of DG NEMA, appreciation was extended to all stakeholders involved in the response.
