Conflicting death figures in Lagos train crash

It was pandemonium yesterday morning following a crash involving a tricycle (Keke Napep), a commercial bus (danfo) and a train, which left two people dead and several others badly injured at the railway crossing, linking Iju Road, NITEL bus stop, Pen Cinema, Agege Lagos.

Speaking with The Guardian, General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Adesina Tiamiyu confirmed that the accident occurred at a few minutes to 9am.

According to him, a passenger train skided off the tracks and collided with a parked commercial bus, forcing three of the passengers to fall off the moving train.

He said: “This happened at railway crossing at Pen Cinema linking Iju Road, NITEL bus stop, Agege.

As the three men fell, two of them died on the spot and have been taken to the mortuary by the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit  (SHEMU).

The third man, who is badly injured, has been transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH),”

Tiamiyu, while sympathising with the victims, warned Lagosians to desist from hanging on moving trains to avoid unnecessary loss of lives.

“We have been imploring residents to stop hanging on moving trains, it is very dangerous as we have seen by what happened today.

It is deadly, people should value their lives,” he added.

The Guardian gathered the accident, which happened at exactly 8.50am, later sparked-off violent protest by commuters and touts, happened when a danfo, parked close to the rail line was hit by an oncoming train, which led to the death of passengers who hung atop the frame of the train.

An eyewitness, Olugbode John, told The Guardian that the bus, parked close to the rail line, impeded the train’s right of way but unknown to the loco captain who was coming on full speed, adding that it was too late for him to realise the bus driver was not there.

This led to a serious collision, killing nine and injuring several others.

“As soon as the train hit the bus, some of the passengers who hung on the roof fell and were killed by the moving train, while those who survived had various degrees of injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.”

Angered by the number of casualties, commuters and touts at Pen Cinema, took the law into their hands and began to destroy commercial vehicles and tricycles around the area, which forced people to scamper for safety.

Meanwhile, the bus that caused the accident was set ablaze, while windscreens of several tricycles were broken, a development that made commercial vehicles and tricycles to make a quick detour to avoid being injured and destroyed.