One person has been confirmed dead in the train accident which occurred in Lagos on Monday morning.
Director-General of the state emergency management agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said the casualty was recorded in a Highlander JEEP which was also involved in the collision.
The accident which happened around Arena level crossing near Oshodi involved a passenger bus with registration number GGE 972 GE with six passengers who were all rescued with minor injuries. They were provided with medicare on the spot and discharged.
The bus reportedly veered onto the train tracks while crossing the rail and subsequently collided with the train.
Eyewitness accounts revealed that the bus and the jeep were dragged by the train which was coming from Ijoko, Ogun State and heading to Iddo in Lagos until it was able to come to a halt.
But the two male passengers in the Jeep were not lucky as they sustained serious injuries and they were rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where one was confirmed dead.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) said the train had since arrived at its destination at Iddo.
The Lagos District Manager of NRC, Engr. Jerry Oche in a chat with Daily Trust confirmed that a team of the railway engineers was on its way to the site to assess the impact of the accident and the level of damage done to the tracks.
Daily Trust reports that the accident happened the day the corporation resumed the Lagos-Ogun Mass Transit Train (MTT) after over five-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oche said, “We resumed this morning and at Arena level crossing, there was an accident because a vehicle was abandoned at the track. So the train hit the vehicle. LASEMA was helpful because they were the ones that came to remove the vehicles off the track.
“The train has got to its destination which is Iddo. It was coming from Ijoko. We are going there now to assess the damage to the track before we know whether we can run the train again today or not. Of course we also have to evacuate whatever that is left there on the tracks.”
