By: Manoah Kikekon
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| Derailed Abuja-Kaduna train |
ABUJA – Panic gripped passengers on Tuesday morning after a Kaduna-bound train from the nation's capital, Abuja, derailed violently, sending several coaches tumbling off the tracks in a shocking incident.
The Abuja-Kaduna train derailment occurred at approximately 11:09 a.m. at KM 49, a location between the Kubwa and Asham stations, according to an initial statement from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
While details on the cause of the derailment and the full extent of injuries remain sketchy, eyewitness accounts paint a picture of sudden terror. Passengers reported a jarring and chaotic scene as the train left the rails.
“We just heard a loud screech, then suddenly everything shook. People were screaming as the coaches lifted and fell on their sides,” a shaken passenger told PREMIUM TIMES at the scene.
Video footage from passengers, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, shows the scale of the incident, with at least one coach completely overturned onto its side on the rocky embankment, underscoring the severity of the train accident in Abuja.
Emergency teams and security personnel were swiftly mobilized to the scene of the train derailment near Kubwa. Their immediate efforts were focused on assisting survivors, evacuating all passengers from the affected coaches, and providing urgent medical care to anyone injured.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has yet to release an official casualty figure or specify the number of people on board the ill-fated train at the time of the Abuja train incident.