KHARTOUM, Sudan – Early on Monday, May 1, 2023, one of the buses transporting 50 stranded Nigerian students from Khartoum to Port Sudan caught fire, sparking a tense moment during the evacuation process.
Luckily, all passengers managed to escape without injury, including Dr. Hashim Idris Na’Allah, the chairman of the Nigerian Elders’ Forum in Sudan.
The fleet of 26 buses had departed from Al Razi around midnight on Monday, with the goal of evacuating over 1,000 Nigerians stranded in Sudan.
The evacuation effort has faced numerous challenges, including difficulties transporting the first batch of evacuees across the Egyptian border.
Stranded Nigerians have now spent five days at the border, as Egyptian officials continue to deny them access into the country.
According to Sani Aliyu, a witness in Sudan, the fire began around 2:30 am Sudan time due to excessive heat from one of the bus’s tires. The driver stopped the bus near an RSF checkpoint just before the tire exploded, causing the fire. “All the passengers escaped unhurt,” Aliyu said, recounting the incident.
After the fire, 40 of the 50 passengers were distributed among the other buses in the convoy, while the remaining passengers and the driver spent the night at the RSF checkpoint.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were praised for their assistance during the ordeal.
“The students said the RSF really did their possible best to help the passengers and offered them cups of tea in the morning before they left,” Aliyu added.
The evacuation process is now continuing as the stranded Nigerians make their way to Port Sudan. From there, they are expected to move into Saudi Arabia, where flights await to take them back to Nigeria.
