March 29, (THEWILL) – The Kaduna State Government has announced completion of evacuation of passengers trapped in the Abuja-Kaduna train.
THEWILL reports that the Kaduna-bound train with an unspecified number of passengers on board, was on Monday night attacked by terrorists.
The attack came a few days after the terrorists attacked the Kaduna International Airport, where an aircraft was prevented from taking off.
The 6pm train, which took off from Idu Train Station at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), reportedly hit explosive device about 30 minutes to Rigasa train station in Kaduna.
The gunmen were said to have blown up the rail track, forcing the 1000-capacity train to derail around Rijana, a village on the rail corridor in Kaduna.
Security operatives were, however, deployed to the scene of the attack.
In a statement on the development on Tuesday morning, the Kaduna State Government said passengers were evacuated from different hard-to-reach areas in forests and rocky locations in Audujongom, off the Kaduna-Abuja Road by security agents.
The statement issued by the Kaduna Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said the State Government is footing the medical bills of passengers injured in the attack.
He, however, disclosed that, search-and-rescue operations were still ongoing in the general area as of Tuesday morning.
The statement reads: “Evacuation of passengers on the trapped Kaduna-bound train from Abuja has been concluded this morning by security forces, officials of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Nigerian Red Cross.
“Passengers who sustained injuries, and other fatalities, have been moved to hospitals.
“The passengers were evacuated from different hard-to-reach areas in forests and rocky locations in Audujongom, off the Kaduna-Abuja Road.
“As stated yesterday, the Kaduna State Government is still liaising with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), to ascertain the list from the passengers manifest for efficient tracking.
“Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who commended all those who participated in the evacuation appealed to the hospitals to attend to the victims diligently.
“The Governor also directed the Ministry of Health to be in contact with the hospitals as government will bear the cost of their treatment.
“As of the time of this update, search-and-rescue operations are in progress.”
