On Thursday, a tragic incident occurred in Lagos State when a train collided with a state bus transporting government workers to their workplaces, resulting in a sad day for all affected.
The incident took place at the PWD bus stop in Ikeja, and emergency responders have confirmed that six people died, while over 82 others sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for treatment.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu visited the hospital and stated that two people died on the spot, while four others passed away at the hospital. Out of the 85 passengers on the bus, 42 suffered moderate injuries, 29 sustained severe injuries, and eight had mild injuries. Onlookers watched in horror as rescue workers extricated the dead and injured from the bus, which was struck on the rail tracks.
According to Adebayo Taofiq, a spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the bus involved in the accident was a Lagos State Government staff bus, although it resembled the standard BRT buses used in the state. Nosa Okunbor, a spokesperson for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), confirmed that over 82 people were injured and taken to LASUTH for treatment.
Okunbor explained that the government staff bus was attempting to cross the PWD/Sogunle rail crossing when the train traveling from Abeokuta to Lagos trapped the bus on its rail, leading to the accident. First responders arrived at the scene to provide assistance to the victims.
Unfortunately, fatal vehicle-train collisions have occurred in the past, resulting in fatalities. In December 2022, a passenger train traveling from Kaduna to Abuja killed a woman on the rail track around the Kubwa area of the nation’s Federal Capital Territory. Stakeholders and safety experts have called for measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring again, but little has been done by the authorities concerned.
