Panic As Train Derails In Kogi, NRC Suspends Warri-Itakpe Service

There was panic over the weekend after a train derailed at kilometre 30 Ajaokuta-Itakpe section of the Warri-Itakpe rail track.

In a statement on Sunday, Coordinator, Warri- Itakpe train service of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Sanni Abdulganiyu, said the train derailed at about 12:30 pm with about 148 passengers and 30 crew members on board. 

The coordinator disclosed that the corporation has suspended the Warri-Itakpe rail service as a result of the incident.

Abdulganiyu, however, added that no fatalities nor casualties were recorded as a result of the derailment. He added that repairs and operations will resume as soon as possible.

He said the corporation was able to immediately alert security personnel who were drafted to the accident scene to protect the passengers.

The statement reads: “The Warri-Itakpe train service WITS 01 derailed at kilometrem 30 Ajaokuta-Itakpe section of the track at about 12:30hrs of January 22, 2023,” the statement reads.

“Thankfully, there was no fatality and no casualty. We were immediately alerted and security personnel comprising the army, police, Nigeria security and civil defence corps (NSCDC), and the community vigilante, were immediately drafted to the accident point with the assistance of the local government chairman.

“All the 148 passengers and 30 crew members were evacuated to a safe place and arrangements were made to convey [the] 148 passengers to their various destinations and they have been successfully conveyed.

“The cause of the derailment is not yet determined. Due to this incident, the service along the corridor has been suspended. Further details would be communicated to members of the public.”

The incident is coming two weeks after gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, kidnapped many passengers from a train station in Edo state.

According to the Edo State Government, most of the abductees have been rescued, and efforts to save the remaining victims are still one.