UPDATED: Many feared dead in Lagos railway, road crashes

At least five people were killed in two separate crashes on the Kara axis of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abattoir area of Lagos State following two fatal crashes Thursday morning.

Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that at Kara, there was a fatal accident involving some vehicles and a truck. At the abattoir end of Lagos, a train derailed from the railway line and ran into people, injuring scores of roadside commuters and traders.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the head of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Adesina Tiamiyu, confirmed the incidents.

At the accident on Kara Bridge after Berger on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, five persons died and 19 others were seriously injured in the early morning incident involving about 15 vehicles.

Hyginus Omeje, the Lagos State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, who confirmed the accident, said three of the victims died on the spot while two later died in the hospital.

Mr. Omeje said the cause of the accident had not been ascertained but that efforts were on to rescue the injured victims as well as ease the traffic along the corridor.

“We received a call this morning that an accident occurred by the Kara Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where about 16 vehicles were involved,” he said.

“Three people died on the spot while two later died at the hospital, the crash involved many vehicles, including buses, cars and trucks.

“The number of people involved in the accident was 53. They are 40 men and 13 women.

“The injured people have been taken to the nearest hospital with the help of Lagos State Emergency Management.’’