A tragic accident involving a Bus Rapid Transit, BRT vehicle and train has occurred in the Ikeja area of Lagos State.
The tragic accident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, 9th March, and has left several persons dead and others injured.
Factsreporter Nigeria learnt the moving train ran into the BRT bus at PWD bus stop, dragging the bus all the way to Shogunle.
Casualties Onboard Named
Significant casualties have been recorded in the accident.
The affected bus was used to transport staff of the Lagos State Government who were going to work, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq confirmed to ReubenAbati blog on phone.
A Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State, Ibrahim Farinloye also confirmed two female staff of the State Government died on the spot and the others injured evacuated for treatment.
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He said, ”the State Government staff bus was trying to cross PWD/Sogunle rail while the train coming into Lagos from Abeokuta trapped the bus on its rail.”
How Passers-by Turned Emergency Responders After Waiting Aimlessly for NEMA
Eyewitness count gathered by our reporter says, it took over one hour for first Responders and other rescue team to arrive the scene of the incident.
While waiting for the rescue team to arrive, our reporter gathered that passers-by turned themselves into emergency responders, they navigated through the bar wires that demarcated the scene of the accident to rescue passengers in the bus and train before the team arrived.
Rescue Attempt Made to Save Lives
The NEMA Spokesperson said first responders and medical team arrived the scene of the accident and rescue operations have been activated and still ongoing.
Eyewitness count reports that the victims injured in the accident have been evacuated and taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for immediate treatment.
Also, the affected bus have been evacuated with a crane to save more lives.
Situation at hand with the Victims
The Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service in an SOS tweet on Twitter made a passionate appeal for blood donation to save the lives of victims who lost blood.
”There is a mass casualty at the PWD, Ikeja between BRT bus and train. Please save lives by donating blood.”
Response from the Lagos State Government
Responding to the incident, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in a tweet condoled with the family of staff involved in the accident.
Sanwo-Olu called for prayer and mercy for the State and assured timely response by emergency responders to addressing the situation.