Tragedy was averted in Aba, Abia state on Monday when two Mobile Policemen driving in a car narrowly escaped death when a moving train rammed into their car at the railway crossing near Ama Ogbonna road, Eziukwu area of the commercial city.
The policemen in a Mitsubishi car with registration number, Abuja AL 307 YAB were said to have been hit by a moving train which continued to drag their car along the rail track until it crashed beyond repair, leaving one of the policemen with serious injuries.
According to eyewitness accounts, the policemen made to pass the rail track and did not notice the train which was coming from the Eziama end of the rail track, has already closed in on them.
“Before they knew it, the train had hit their car and dragged it along. We were shaken by the loud noise of the train dragging the crashed car. The train dragged the car to a safe distance and stopped. It only stopped when it threw the car off the rail track. It was only when we got there that we discovered that they were policemen; initially we thought they were dead, but later found out that they were alive. One of the policemen sustained injuries on his palm while he was being brought through the rear windscreen.”
A shop owner who also witnessed the incident described it as strange as it had been a long time a train was seen in the area.
“This is a very strange thing; it has been a long time since we saw a train use this track. The railway people should post their traffic officers to rail crossings to help warn motorists about the movement of trains.”
Efforts to get the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abia State command, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna, did not yield fruit but a senior police officer at the Aba Area Command, confirmed the incident.
