• Sanwo-Olu declares 3-day mourning, suspends campaign
By Christopher Oji and Lukman Olabiyi
Eight people were so far confirmed dead, while scores were injured, when a Lagos State Government staff bus collided with a train at the PWD rail crossing in the Shogunle area of the state, yesterday.
The bus, number 33, heading to Alausa from Isolo, took a wrong turn at the PWD rail crossing in Shogunle and collided with an oncoming train. It was carrying 85 passengers, majorly civil servants and some dependents. Two people died on the spot, while six died in the hospital.
There were 42 moderately-injured people, 29 serious injuries and eight mild injuries; 25 people have been treated and transferred to Gbagada General Hospital, Agege General Hospital and trauma centre at toll gate.
Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, declared three days of mourning and directed that flags be flown at half mast, while civil servants work half day today.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) when he visited to assess the situation and commiserate with victims, also cancelled all public engagements and campaigns.
He said: “This is a very sober time for us as a government, and while we acknowledge God as the giver of life, the one who determines every man’s destiny, it saddens us when we have incidents like this.
“The fatal accident happened at the rail crossing around PWD in the Shogunle area. I believe they were coming from the expressway and needed a right turn, and wanted to drag over the rail. It is not yet clear what happened, but it seems like a wrong judgement by the driver. I also learnt he has turned himself to the police, and so investigations will determine what actually went wrong. We would also reach out to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) to give their own account of what transpired, so we can have full information.
“We haven’t informed any family members yet because these are civil servants who were going to work, so we cannot begin to disclose names until families have been contacted. Of the number of injured people, 25 were treated very quickly and transferred to the Gbagada General Hospital, Agege General Hospital, and the trauma centre at toll gate, so this place can be decongested and proper profiling of injuries can be done.
“There will be half day of work tomorrow (today) so we can jointly mourn our staff, our loved ones, and the dead can be buried.
“Flags will also fly at half mast for the next three days, and we are also declaring a three-day state mourning for the deceased.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu hailed Lagosians who joined the first responders in the search and rescue operation, saying the true spirit of Lagos must be sustained at all times. He commended the first responders, LASUTH and LASUCOM staff and security agencies for their prompt response.
“A big thank you to well meaning Lagosians who immediately joined in rescue efforts. Our first responders and emergency services are on ground and we will share more information shortly,” he said.
The governor also hailed candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jide Adeniran and Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour for visiting and commiserating with the families, saying, “it is important to thank two of my other competitors – Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and Mr
Olajide Adeniran, who I learnt was here earlier, for their show of commitment beyond politics. I thank them for coming here.”
The governor said the state has the capacity to tackle emergencies, adding that investigation was ongoing and regular updates would be given as necessary. He also appealed to people to voluntarily donate blood to help LASUTH restock its blood bank.