The Lagos State Government has said 32 Victims onboard the ill-fated BRT bus, which collided with a moving train at PWD, close to Shogunle area of the state on Thursday morning, have been discharged.
Lagos state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this during a press conference at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on Friday.
Abayomi said a total of 102 casualties were recorded, adding that the number of fatalities still remains six.
He said 19 victims have been discharged from LASUTH, five from the State Accident and Emergency Centre at Old Toll Gate, and eight from Orile-Agege General Hospital.
“It is important to note that from about 12 o’clock yesterday till now, we have not lost any other passengers from this accident. So, the act of triage was very important in saving lives and reducing the casualty of this ghastly accident.
“At the same time, there are very few hospitals in the world that can cope with a sudden surge of very critically injured patients, so the triage process also identifies some of the injured passengers that can be transferred to other established general hospitals in Lagos”, he said.
DIPLOMATIC DIARY reported on Thursday that at least six persons have been confirmed dead, 42 sustained moderate injuries, 29 serious injuries, while 8 sustained mild injuries, out of 85 passengers onboard the BRT bus, belonging to the state government.
On the cause of the accident which happened around 7:10 a.m, DIPLOMATIC DIARY gathered that the BRT bus driver did not see the train coming, because he had earpiece stuck in his ears.
According to Yusuf, the Flagman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) at the PWD, he gave the BRT driver red flag, but the driver ignored it.
Yusuf said: “When the train was coming around 7:10 a.m, I was trying to stop the BRT motor, but he (driver) didn’t stop. The driver just wanted to cross; by that time, the train was already close. The train now collided with the bus.”
Another eye-witnesss, David Makanjuola, said the BRT bus driver was unaware of the moving train because he had earpiece.
“The driver of the BRT probably didn’t see the train coming, because he had earpiece ON. The train was coming with full speed, so it hit the bus, and dragged it from PWD here to Shogunle area”, he said.
According to Makanjuola, while the driver was not among those who lost their lives, he sustained serious injuries.
“When the accident happened some area boys wanted to steal some of the victims’ personal belongings. It was the police that prevented them”, he added.
Also, a security man around the area, Jude Onyekwuru said one of the passengers, a woman, died on the spot.
On his part, the State Commissioner of Transport, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, who arrived the accident scene around 12:30 p.m, said the driver did not respond to all the signals given to him, possibly because he had earpiece.
“I think when the train was coming all signals were given just to indicate that train was coming. So a lot of cars that were supposed to cross … Pass this junction, but I heard that the staff bus that carry people to Alausa, the driver had an earpiece.
“So maybe he didn’t hear, but he decided that he was going to hit the train. But unfortunately, when you don’t know the heaviness of the vehicle; I think maybe he underestimated probably the speed. What we know is that he got hit and he was dragged for about 250 meters”, Oladeinde said.
He said investigation is ongoing to find out what actually happened, adding that the driver of the bus was being interrogated at a police station
