NRC confirms safety of 172 passengers…says coaches re-railed as track repairs begin
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Saturday said that 172 passengers in the Kaduna-bound train attacked by bandits have been confirmed safe, while 21 others were still missing.
The Corporation also said that seven coaches of the attacked train AK9 had been re-railed and moved to safety while repairs have begun on the tracks.
A statement signed by the Managing Director of the NRC, Mr. Fidet Okhiria, explains that: “From the last Press Release, we confirmed that 4No. Coaches (SP 00004, SP00009, SP00012 and SP00013) out of the 11No. Coaches involved in the incident have been re-railed and safely moved to Rigasa Station while work is on-going on track repairs. We did also stated that 170 of the Passengers on-board the train are safe while 21 Passengers are reported missing.”
The MD also gave an update on the number of persons confirmed safe, those still missing and what the Corporation had done in terms of repairs and distribution of the re-railed coaches.
“At the end of work today’s evening (02/04/2022) the NRC’s restoration team has further re-railed four (4) more Coaches and two (2) of the coaches (SP 00007 and SP 00013) had been safely moved to Idu and Rigasa Stations respectively. The other two (2) Coaches are still at the site due to damaged tracks. This brings the total Coaches so far re-railed to 7 No. but only 5 No. successfully moved to the Stations. However, efforts are on to link the track. At the moment, a total of 80 meters of the affected section has been fixed, including replacement of affected Sleepers and twisted Rails.
“The Corporation also confirms updates that a total of 172 Passengers on board the AK9 are safe and okay, while 21 Passengers are still reported missing. Let us assure our esteem passengers that the Corporation in collaboration with the Security agencies will leave no stone unturned in our efforts at rescuing the missing persons,” Okhiria said.
The NRC expressed its condolences with families that lost loved ones and sympathised with injured passengers and all who were on board the ill-fated train, for the trauma the incident had caused them.
The Corporation appreciates the support of all security agencies that came to the rescue of the situation.
