Five persons have been crushed to death in an accident along Tombia-Amassoma, a road leading to the newly opened Bayelsa State Airport and the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU).

The accident, which happened Thursday evening, was said to have involved a Venza car and two tricycles heading towards Amassoma community.

An eye witness, Mr Stephen Jones, said the driver of the Venza lost the control as a result of the downpour and rammed into two oncoming tricycles, leading to the death of five passengers with others injured.

He said that men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had evacuated the corpses and deposited them at a mortuary in Yenagoa, while the injured persons were taken to hospital for treatment.

Authorities of Bayelsa State Command of the FRSC have yet to comment on the auto crash.

However, an official, who did not want his name mentioned, said the accident occurred due to speeding by the Venza driver .

“The driver lost control and rammed into the tricycles,” he added.

The Tombia-Amassoma road is said to have witnessed heavy traffic recently due to the commencement of commercial flight operations at the airport.