Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Nigeria’s Lagos state, has called on people to come forward and donate blood as medics treat those injured in a train-bus collision earlier on Thursday.
“We continue to call for blood donations across different state government medical facilities,” Mr. Sanwo-Olu said in a series of tweets about the accident.
I was at LASUTH to understand the condition of the victims of the bus/train accident.
The team at LASUTH expertly setup an outdoor triage centre which has contributed in saving lives, speeding up injury level profiling and supporting immediate critical action. pic.twitter.com/Ei45BPFiXE
— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) March 9, 2023
He stated that 85 passengers were on board the bus transporting civil servants to work when it was hit by a commuter train during rush hour on Thursday morning in the city’s Ikeja area.
The governor confirmed six deaths and said 29 people were in critical condition, 42 people had moderate injuries, and eight had minor wounds.
He thanked the rescue workers and others involved, as well as the staff and students at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (Lasuth), where the injured are being treated.
The accident occurred at a railway crossing with no barrier.
“This was completely avoidable,” said the governor, who is running for re-election next week.