Two die, others injured in Lagos train crash

Many commuters hanging on a moving train were crushed on Friday after the train crashed into a stationary commercial bus parked close to the railway line in the Agege area of Lagos State.
Although official report put the casualty figure at two, some eyewitnesses said that seven persons died while several others were injured.

It was learnt that the bus driver had just dropped off some passengers at a park – a few metres away – and parked the vehicle close to the railway line while he went to excrete in an uncompleted building. The bus conductor, who was looking after the vehicle, rushed to call the driver the moment he heard the blaring of the train’s horns. By the time the driver arrived to move the bus away from the spot, the train was said to be fast approaching as he and the conductor fled to safety.

A resident, Deji Olawunmi, said people hanging on the train, lost balance as it clung to the bus. He stated that some of them fell into the path of the speeding train and got crushed, while others jumped on heaps of sand around the scene. He said, “The incident happened around 8am. A woman who was hawking food here warned the driver not to park the bus close to the railway line, but he said he would not stay long in the toilet. By the time he came back, it was late.