Some moments ago, a false
report went viral saying a fully loaded Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus that was
conveying passengers across the Third Mainland Bridge had fallen off the bridge
into the Lagos Lagoon.
On Twitter, Facebook, Radio
Stations, News Websites and other social media platforms, the disturbing news
spread like wild fire, getting many people worried over the safety of the
alleged passengers of the bus.
Most media sources based their
news on a tweet by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), which confirmed
the accident.
The FRSC tweeted this message
earlier: “A fully loaded BRT bus fell off the 3rd mainland bridge into the Lagos
lagoon, 26-11-12. Rescue work in progress. Motorists be cautious.”
However, coming as a huge
relief, the FRSC spokesman, Jonas Agwu has said the tweet about BRT falling off
3rd Mainland Bridge in Lagos is a “hoax”. The tweet has been deleted from the
their Twitter page and replaced with this:
The Lagos State Government has
also debunked the story saying it was a rumour. On Traffic FM, the state
government’s dedicated traffic radio station, the news was also described as
false.
While the news of the accident
was still being circulated on Twitter, Jon Gambrell, the AP correspondent in
Nigeria visited the scene and tweeted his findings.
It
is hoped that the FRSC would give an explanation for the misleading tweet.
However, we are glad that no such event happened in Nigeria
today.
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