Fourteen people were killed and more than two dozen injured when a car crashed into a popular carnival in Calabar in southeastern Nigeria, according to a local road safety chief.
“The incident occurred when a Toyota Camry lost control and crashed into a crowd of onlookers,” Maikano Hasan, local commander of the Federal Highway Traffic Safety Service, said in a statement.
Fourteen people died and 29 were injured on Wednesday, some of them in critical condition, according to the statement.
Three girls and two boys were among the victims.
The incident occurred as a crowd watched a parade of motorcyclists in front of a mosque in the Bogobiri area.
Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, hosts one of the most prestigious carnivals in West Africa every December.
The official website says that the event attracts about 2 million revelers annually.
Cross River Gov. Ben Ayade called on police to detain the driver, who he said left after the “accident”.
He also ordered them to find out how the driver was able to enter the area that was supposed to be closed for the carnival.
