…NRC MD sheds light on accident***
Two passengers inside a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) were feared dead Thursday (9th March 2023) morning, while many reportedly suffered varying degrees of injuries, following an accident between the BRT and a speeding train.
The accident occurred at the PWD Bus Stop, along the Oshodi – Ikeja axis.
An eyewitness told the Maritime First that “the whole thing happened, too quickly”.
He highlighted that the BRT was crossing the rail, and had almost left the track, when it suddenly slowed down, enabling the speeding train, coming inward Oshodi, from Abeokuta side, to ram into the bus, dragging it a while, before being able to stop.
Another eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Johnson said he saw two women, badly affected, helplessly bleeding, and very much doubted, if they were alive.
“If the BRT was not so long, it would have fully escaped. But, it was long and big and couldn’t move very quickly, off the track!”, Johnson stated, adding that one man was also sighted, limping away, from the bus.
In the meantime, the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Mr. Fidet Okhiria, on Thursday gave an account of the brief he got on the accident involving a train and a bus earlier in the day.
The NRC train, according to the Managing Director, was involved in an accident with a Lagos State Government staff bus on the rail track in Sogunle area of Lagos.
Two bodies have so far been recovered from the scene, while several others are injured, he highlighted, highlighting information he sourced from the National Emergency Management Agency.
“According to the information I gathered at the scene of the incident, they said many cars stopped when they got to the level crossing while the Lagos State Staff Bus driver continued moving, which I don’t know why.
”Maybe the driver thought he could pass before the train got nearer to him. He could not pass, then the train crushed the bus; that is what we gathered.
“The train was coming from Ijoko to Iddo,” Okhiria explained, urging Lagos drivers to be more careful when passing through the level crossing, to avoid train accidents.
The Managing Director, who was concerned about the lives of the Lagos State staff, appealed to motorists to consider the level crossing at all times.
Okhiria said that when motorists get to the level crossing, they should not ignore the point where they should stop.
The Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Taofiq, Adebayo, had said in a statement that a Lagos State Government staff bus was crushed by a moving train at PWD, Ikeja.
Adebayo said that the staff bus was with registration no 04A- 48LA,
He said that the enforcement officers of LASTMA were the first emergency responders at the scene of the accident.
Adebayo said they had called other emergency responders to join in the rescue.
He said that the accident recorded some casualties as the staff bus was fully loaded with govt staff going to the office in the morning.
