Bus conveying stranded Nigerians students from Sudan catches fire

In what looks like setback to the on going evacuation of Nigerian students in Sudan,it had been reported that one of the vehicles conveying the students caught fire with no casualty and no cause for alarm.

As part of the second batch of Federal Government of Nigeria evacuation, one of the buses carrying about 50 Nigerian students from Sudan with the tag number (Katsina 1) travelling to Port Sudan sustained damage from extreme heat from one of the vehicle’s tyres.

The bus carrying 50 pupils (49 males and 1 female) also included Dr. Hashim Idris Na’Allah, the chairman of the Nigerian Elders’ Forum in Sudan.

The event took place about 2:30 a.m. Sudan time.

“Just before the tyre ruptured and started a fire, the driver of the bus stopped it close to an RSF checkpoint.

“All of the passengers made it out safely.

The remaining passengers spent the night at the scene of the event with the driver at the RSF checkpoint, while 40 of the 50 passengers were later distributed to the other buses transporting the students.

Sani Aliyu, who is in Sudan, said that “the students said the RSF really did their possible best to help the passengers and offered them with cups of tea in the morning before they left.”

Following the challenges encountered in evacuating the initial group of Nigerians across the borders of Egypt, over 1000 Nigerians are now being evacuated via the Port Sudan route.

The stranded Nigerians had been waiting for a trip back to Nigeria for five days at the borders after Egyptian authorities barred them from entering the nation.