Accident 2 die as train collides with trailer in Lagos

There was pandemonium in Agege, Lagos State, on Monday night, when a mass-transit train heading for Ijoko town in Ogun State from Iddo collided with a trailer reportedly crossing the railway level crossing, leaving two people dead and their bodies dismembered while one got critically injured.

According to an eyewitness, the trailer got stuck on the rail line at the Agege level crossing, leading to a collision with an oncoming train which had passengers hanging on the train's engine compartment.

“The impact led to the death of two young men whose bodies were dismembered while a third was seriously injured and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Agege," the eyewitness told Tribune Online.

When contacted, the image maker of the Nigerian Railways Corporation, Mr. Abdulrauf Akinwoye, stated that the two dead victims were illegal passengers who hung on the train's engine compartment at the time of the accident.

“Yes, there was an accident involving a trailer and one of our trains at the Agege level crossing on Monday night and two people died from the collision and one was injured.

“However, these two dead victims are illegal passengers because they were hanging on the running board of the locomotive engine as of the time of the collision. 

The NRC does not recognise them as legal passengers because they did not purchase tickets for that journey.

“If they had purchased their tickets, they would have been inside the train and would not have been injured. 

Therefore, they are illegal passengers and have been taken to the mortuary while the third who was injured has been taken to the hospital for treatment, after which he will be arrested and prosecuted.

“The level crossing keepers who are NRC workers were at the scene and tried to stop the trailer from crossing the railway track because they knew a train was coming.

 However, the trailer driver refused to heed the warning of the level crossing keepers, thinking he could cross the railway tracks before the train arrived.

“However, he got stuck on the level crossing due to a traffic gridlock and this led to the accident. The driver ran away immediately after the accident and the trailer has been taken to the Agege train station," he said

Tribune.