No fewer than 57 people were burnt to death on Sunday in two separate road accidents in Rivers and Delta states.

In the accident in Rivers, 50 people lost their lives when three buses collided with each other at a point on the Elele-Port Harcourt Road.

The others died when a Peugeot station wagon, in which they were traveling, rammed into a stationary trailer on the Benin-Warri Expressway.

Although the Rivers State Police Command and the state sector of the Federal Road Safety Commission could not confirm the death toll, an eyewitness told one of our correspondents that he counted at least 50 dead bodies. He, however, did not say if there were survivors.

Another eyewitness said that two of the passenger buses were heading for Owerri, Imo State, while the third was returning to Port Harcourt when they crashed into each other.

The source added that the impact of the collision led to an explosion, which left most of the passengers burnt beyond recognition.

A lady, who gave her name as Amaka Ofe, said,”What I saw at the scene of the accident shocked me. I have never seen human beings roasted like animals.

”Some of the dead passengers were partially burnt. For some, the fire burnt their heads and left their lower parts intact. In others, the legs were reduced to charcoal while the heads were badly bruised.

“Smoke was everywhere when we stopped to see what was happening and the bodies were strewn on the road. People from the nearby community rushed to the scene to see what had happened.”

The state Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Sobowale Oke, confirmed the incident.

He said that his men were able to remove the corpses to the Elele General Hospital.

Oke, however, added that the details of the accident would be made public on Monday (today).

The Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on Emergency and Fire Service, Chief Godwin Okpabi, said officials of the agency were dispatched to the scene to help in putting out the fire and get details of the accident.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Ireju Barasua, said that the command had received the report of the accident but that she did not know the exact number of the dead.

The Elele-Port Harcourt Road is the major link between Rivers and Imo states.

But it is a single-lane highway and part of the East-West Road that the Federal Government is trying to dualise at the cost of N230bn. The contract is being jointly handled by two companies – Julius Berger and Setraco.

Our correspondent in Warri however reported that the accident in which seven other people died occurred on the Benin-Warri Expressway.

It was learnt that the car, which was going to Warri from Benin, ran into the stationary trailer marked, Delta XB 298 OGB, at Opuraja Junction in Okpe Local Government Area.

The car was said to have immediately caught fire that roasted the occupants to death.

The trailer, loaded with scraps, was also burnt.

Our correspondent, who visited the scene on Sunday afternoon, saw the remains of the victims in the wrecked car.

Sympathizers, who besieged the scene wept as the corpses were evacuated to an unknown mortuary.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Delta State Command, Miss Olabisi Okuwobi, said she was yet to get details of the accident when contacted on the telephone.

However, a senior police officer at Orerokpe Police Station, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the crash.

Gaza Clashes Threaten Hamas-Fatah Pact

Egyptian mediators hammered out an agreement to end a day of clashes in Gaza that killed three and jeopardized a power-sharing agreement between rivals Hamas and Fatah.

The Egyptian security delegation stationed in Gaza brought the two sides together and got them to agree to withdraw their forces and exchange captives, spokesmen from Hamas and Fatah said early Monday. Such agreements have not always been carried out in the past.

The first incident Sunday was a shooting ambush blamed on Hamas that killed a Fatah militant commander and his bodyguard.

In a firefight that followed, Suleiman Ashi, 26, a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Palestine Daily, was pulled from a taxi by Fatah gunmen and shot, according to the newspaper. He died later of his wounds. The Palestinian Journalists Union condemned the killing.

Ten people were wounded in clashes near the seaside compound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in downtown Gaza. Gunmen in pickup trucks drove through the streets.

Later, a gunbattle also erupted during the funeral of the Fatah commander, Baha Abu Jarad, and three people were hurt. Fatah gunmen fired in the air during the procession, clamoring for revenge.

Before the Egyptians stepped in, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti pleaded with the two sides to bring their forces under control.

``Not only the future of the government but the future of all the Palestinian people will be endangered if these bloody acts continue,'' he warned.

In another incident, masked gunmen abducted a well-known religious scholar from Hamas as he returned from evening prayers at a local mosque in Gaza City, his family and colleagues said He was released after three hours, Hamas said.

His abduction set off a wave of kidnappings by both sides, security officials said. At least 14 people were snatched, a Hamas official said.

The new unity government, with Hamas sharing power with Fatah, took office in March. A main goal was to end months of bloody clashes between forces loyal to the two sides. But the new round of violence followed deployment of 3,000 police in Gaza from forces loyal to Abbas, over Hamas objections.

The fighting erupted as Israel's Security Cabinet debated how to respond to intensifying Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza, including five missiles launched Sunday. A government official said no decisions were made. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

There has been pressure on the Israeli leadership to order airstrikes against militants and an invasion of Gaza to stop the salvos.

Also Sunday, Jordan's King Abdullah called off what was to have been a rare visit to the West Bank.

The king hoped to push an Arab peace plan and show support for Abbas, a moderate and leader of Fatah. The monarch, who was to have arrived by helicopter, cited low clouds and poor visibility for the cancellation. The Abbas-Abdullah meeting is to be rescheduled in coming days, said aides to the king and Abbas.

Abdullah has warned that time is running out for reaching a peace deal based on an Arab plan that offers Arab recognition of Israel for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories captured in the 1967 Mideast War. On Tuesday, Abdullah is to talk to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jordan about the plan.

Despite the king's push, progress on the Arab plan appears unlikely. Olmert has been weakened by scathing criticism of his handling of last summer's war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, while Abbas lacks the clout to stop the fighting between Hamas gunmen and security forces loyal to him.