5 Die, Many Injured As Train Collides With Truck

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

It was a black Thursday as a moving train collided with a truck that conveyed cows from the Northern part of the country at the abattoir area of Agege, Lagos.

The accident left five victims dead on the spot while several others suffered various degrees of injuries and were taken to the hospitals around.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened in the morning at about 7.00am almost the same period another accident happened at Kara area around the boundary of Lagos and Ogun States which left unnamed number as casualties.

The identities of those that died in the two accidents or taken to hospitals were not yet known because of the emergency nature of the situation.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the collision of the train and the truck was fatal because the illegal passengers sitting on top of the train were mostly affected in the accident.

An eye witness said the truck was turning before the driver lost control and hit the train that was passing on the rail line at that period. The witness said the number of causalities was much because the passengers on the roof fell off, some died while others sustained injuries and were taken to various hospitals in the state.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the accident temporarily affected all the business activities in the area as residents were rushing to the scene to see if they could identify the victims.
It was gathered that the real number of the victims could not be ascertained as some were said to have died on the way to the hospitals, while some died at some hospitals.

The police Public Relation officer, Mr Famous Cole confirmed the accident and said already the police had moved to the scene to ascertain the situation of things there.

He however declined to confirm the actual number of people that have died but promised to release the details after he had received the proper briefing.

Meanwhile some of the residents have condemned the situation where the passengers will be on top of the train and nothing was done.

One of the residents said there was need for the government to work and prevent standing or sitting on the train as it was not safe for passengers or tidy for the railway management.