There was confusion on Thursday at the Lagos port as a train conveying containers into the port, crushed a truck fully loaded with two containers near the APM and ENL Terminals.

Findings revealed that the train coach was damaged while the truck and containers on it were also damaged.

Alhaji Inuwa Abdullahi, a port user who witnessed the incident said “The train had already given the signal that it was approaching and the railway crossing at the roundabout was already lowered. But the truck driver, who was waiting at the roundabout, suddenly started approaching because somebody signalled him to come since the train is not yet coming.

“The truck driver came down, opened the closed barricade and started approaching the railway crossing, and by that time, the moving train was already too close. The truck head had passed through, but the body of the truck with the two containers on it was rammed into the wall of ENL Terminal along the 1.6 kilometre port access road.

“The container was fully loaded. So the owners of the container must have lost a lot.”

As at the time of filing in this report, officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Anti-Bomb Squad, Customs officers, and Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) were already on the ground to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order.

When contacted, the NRC Lagos District Manager, Engineer Jerry Oche wondered how the truck was able to pass over the level crossing since the train was already approaching.

“The barrier at the level crossing is usually lowered by NPA security officials once the train is coming. How did the truck pass the barrier?” Engineer Oche asked when confronted with the train-truck collision incident inside the Lagos port.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no confirmation of any casualty.

(Tribune)

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