Troops complete Evacuation Of Passengers Trapped In Abuja-Kaduna Train

Kaduna State Government has announced completion of evacuation of passengers trapped in the Abuja-Kaduna train, which came under terrorist attack Monday evening.

The 1000 capacity train, which was reported to have about 970 passengers on board the 6:30 pm schedule,m took off from Idu in Abuja to Rigasa, Kaduna.

It was attacked around Katari and Rijana axis Monday evening.

The Government, in a statement on Tuesday morning, 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 signed by 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 titled: ‘Evacuation of trapped train passengers concluded,’ 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.”

The Nation