A passenger train travelling along the Abuja – kaduna route has been attacked by bandits and some passengers reportedly killed in Nigeria.
The train was conveying 970 passengers before it was attacked between Rijana and Katari in Kaduna State. The bandits detonated explosives set o the rail track causing damages to the train engine before it veered off the tracks.
The terrorists began shooting into the train after it stopped and made attempts to enter the train. Many passengers were reportedly killed, some injured and others are suspected to may have been abducted by the attackers.
A passenger onboard the train, Anas Iro Dan Musa, sent messages out to his followers on Facebook, saying all passengers were lying on the floor as the terrorists were shooting at the train sporadically.
Dan-Musa wrote, “ please, this is an emergency. We are inside the train at the moment. Kidnappers planted explosives on the train tracks and the train engines have been ruined, we are helpless.
“Gunshots still being fired around us. We are just under the seats praying to God while waiting for help”.
He later added: “Since 8 pm we have been here between Katari and Rijiana. I am a living witness. Please share the news we need help.”
Another victim of the attack described the incident saying, when the explosives went, the earth shook after which the terrorists began to rain bullets on them.
Meanwhile , the Kaduna State Government said on Tuesday that the “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.”
Relevant authorities were liaising with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to ascertain the list from the passengers manifest for efficient tracking.
Train Attack: Dead Bodies Recovered From Scene
The Kaduna State Government has confirmed that some passengers were killed in the terrorist attack on a train along Abuja-Kaduna route.
The state government gave the confirmation in a statement on Tuesday signed by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
Aruwan, however, did not state the number of death recorded but said dead victims and those injured had been taken to hospitals. The names of the hospitals were not mentioned either.
Lady who Tweeted ” I Have Been Shot” Is dead
One of the train passengers, Dr. Chinelo Magafu, who tweeted that she was shot in the attacked train has reportedly died from gunshot wounds.
Chinelo tweeted on Monday that she was shot and solicited for prayers from the public.
She was travelling alongside other 970 passengers in the attacked train.
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