12 Die As Trains Collide In Jebba

Two trains collided Saturday at Jebba Bridge bordering Niger and Kwara State  with no fewer than 12 persons feared deadand several injured.LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the twotrains collided as a result of distorted schedule along the Western Route  based on miscommunication among the operators along the route.Findings revealed that the train coming from the South-western part of the country took off from Ilorin, while the one from the north-western part took off from Minna early yesterday morning.It was learnt that usually the trains are scheduled in a way to avert such collision but the two trains had taken off before it was discovered that they were scheduled at the same time, hence the collision at thebridge.Witnesses said all attempts by the officialsof both trains to  avert the accident proved abortive as there was no standard mechanism to control their movement on the bridge and in a bid to avoid the collision, one  of the trains fell under the bridge .It was learnt that the officials in the train tried to manoeuver their way out  as the train that took off from Minna was trying toreverse  but to no avail, resulting in the collision.Rescue operations were still ongoing at the accident site at the time of this report.When contacted, officials of the information unit of the North-western  district  of Nigeria railway office in Minna declined comments on the accident, saying officials who went to  the scene were yet to come back with a detailed report so they did not have the information requested.