Managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Fidet Okhiria says the corporation has not been able to reach 146 of 362 passengers that boarded the ill-fated Abuja-Kaduna train on Monday, March 28.
Okhiria noted this in a release obtained on Monday about a week after the incident.
He, however, said the number of safe passengers had risen to 186.
Okhiria said 51 phone numbers on the manifest are either switched off or unreachable since Tuesday morning and 35 phone numbers on the manifest rang when called but without response from the other end.
He also noted that 60 phone numbers on the manifest responded non-existent when called.
The NRC boss clarified that 22 persons are reported missing by their relatives and eight persons were confirmed dead.
”Of the 362 validated passengers on board the attacked AK9 train service on March 28, 186 persons on the manifest are confirmed to be safe and at their various homes (additional 14 persons confirmed safe today),” the statement said.
The NRC has since suspended train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route indefinitely.
