Culled from Punch:
A section of a train returning from
Ijoko in Lagos State to its base at Ebutte Metta, Lagos on Wednesday derailed
at Agege. The incident which occurred between 11.30pm and 12.30am was said to
have been caused by defective tracks. As of 11am on Wednesday, the scene of the
accident had been cordoned off by policemen from the Railway police. An
employee of the National Railway Corporation told PUNCH Metro, on the condition of anonymity, that
the driver of the locomotive also shared the blame in the accident.
The source said, “The rails were not
aligned properly; there was a gap between them which ought not to be. It so
happened that the driver who was driving the locomotive, was moving at a high
speed. When he ran into the improperly laid rails, the locomotive was thrown
off the rails. “Although the driver was hurt, the injuries are not life
threatening. The accident could have been avoided though if he wasn’t speeding.
Both the driver and those responsible for laying the tracks, will be
sanctioned.”
When PUNCH Metro visited the scene, over 15 employees
of the NRC were on the ground. Our correspondent reported that the accident had
thrown the locomotive off the rails, causing a section of the engine, to tilt
slightly to its side while a second section remained upright. As of 4pm,
engineers and other employees of the NRC, were still battling to get the
locomotive back on the rails with the aid of a crane. A few metres away, other
employees worked at fixing the rails which had been damaged by the accident.
Spokesperson for the NRC in Lagos,
Mr. Adekanbi, confirming the incident, told PUNCH
Metro that the cause of the
accident was unknown. He said, “I am not at the scene right now so I cannot
tell you if the cause of the accident were the rails. We have our own methods
of handling such situations.“At the moment, all we are doing is trying to get
the locomotive back on the rails so that it can be moved away. The cause of the
accident is unknown, but the driver is unhurt.“It is when we are able to get
the locomotive back on the rails that we can say what caused the accident.
However, it is a minor accident.”
Photo Credit: Punch
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