TRAGEDY struck on Sunday when six persons returning from a spiritual exercise in Osun State died in an auto crash on Eripa-Otan-Ayegbaju Road in Boluwaduro Local Government Area of the state.
The police confirmed the figure, adding that nine persons sustained injuries in the crash.
The incident took place about 8am after the travelers concluded their pilgrimage to the popular Oke-Maria, a religious tourist destination the Catholic Church faithful.
It was also gathered that it was a lone accident involving an 18-seater-bus of the SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Lagere, Ile-Ife.
An eyewitness said the driver of the bus marked LAGOS GGE 109 DY lost control and ran into a ditch after negotiating a slope a few meters away from Eripa town.
Residents of the town reportedly trooped out to the crash scene to help the victims but could not do much until officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) arrived to evacuate the dead and the injured.
The bodies of the victims were deposited at the mortuary of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital in Osogbo while those that sustained injuries were treated at the same hospital. A source said a police team was immediately drafted to the crash scene.