NRC suspends Warri-Itakpe rail service after train derailed in Kogi

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has suspended the service of Warri-Itakpe rail.

This came after a train recorded a mechanical fault at kilometre 30 Ajaokuta-Itakpe section of the track.

This was confirmed in a statement released by the coordinator of Warri- Itakpe train service, Sanni Abdulganiyu.

He explained that the mechanical fault occurred around 12:30 pm with about 148 passengers and 30 crew members on board.

He said the train did not record any fatality or casualty.

He added that the train corporation communicated the security operatives about the incident, who mobilised their agents to the affected scene.

He said; “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 Informant247 earlier reported that a train plying the Warri-Itakpe route derailed, and left many passengers stranded.

This came few days after some innocent passengers were kidnapped from a train station in Igueben, Edo State.

Sources in the train revealed that the incident occurred inside a forest in Kogi State.

They added that some of the passengers have abandoned the train, for the fear of being kidnapped by the unknown or the unexpected.

The Informant247 gathered that the train departed Warri on Sunday morning, and derailed around 12pm inside a forest between Ajaokuta and Itakpe.

Prince Douye Koroye, a former Chairman of the Bayelsa Vigilante Agency, who was in the ‘Very Important Personality, VIP’ section of the train suspected that it may be the handiwork of some terrorists.

The source, also said 4 coaches and the head coach of the train are damaged beyond imagination.

He said the officials of the Nigeria Railway Corporation persuaded the stranded passengers not to panic as they’re currently mobilising for technical assistance.