Four persons died while several others sustained serious injuries after an eleven coach train with one cargo coach derailed in Jebba, Moro local government area of Kwara State.
The incident happened on Saturday night.
Speaking during the inspection of the scene, Transport Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi, represented by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Sabiu Zakari said two of the victims had been identified by their family members.
“We were informed when the accident happened and we swung into action immediately, but it is unfortunate that we lost four people while three others sustained injuries. The three persons injured have been treated and discharged immediately and the federal government has already picked up their bills.
”For the dead, we have been able to identify two of them at the mortuary and we have contacted their families. We will continue to look for the families of the remaining two corpses.
“Once we get them, government will take responsibility of their burial and we will also ensure how their corpses would be transferred to their relations”, he stated.
He commiserated with the families of the dead and wished those injured quick recovery.
Also speaking on the accident, the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Engineer Fidet Okhira, said “it is no time for blame game but to reflect on what happened, mourn those who died and commiserate with their families.”
He, however, said those in the coach were illegal passengers who hide in the loads packed in the coach.
According to him, “There are twelve coaches going to Kano from Lagos and eleven of them are already in Kano. The last one was the one that was involved in the accident. The train that was involved in the accident is not a passenger coach but a carrier one, so those people who died there are illegal passengers who hide in the loads.”
Mr. Okhiria denied the rumor by some locomotive drivers, who said there was no life insurance for them, insisting that all the staff were under an insurance being managed by the Industrial and General Insurance (IGI).
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