A passenger train heading from Abuja to Kaduna derailed on Tuesday morning, causing several coaches to topple, and sparking panic among travellers.

The mishap happened at Asham shortly after the train left Abuja at 9:45 a.m.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as frightened passengers scrambled to safety amid confusion.

The cause of the derailment is not yet known.

Meanwhile, Military personnel were reportedly deployed to the site to help evacuate stranded passengers and restore order.

Images shared on social media showed at least three carriages tipped over near the Jere train station, which is on a troubled railway line linking the Nigerian capital Abuja with the northern city of Kaduna.

“I can confirm the incident but I cannot confirm if there is any casualty or not,” Ezekiel Manzo, a spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told AFP.

A NEMA team was en route to the site of the accident, Manzo added.

The Abuja-Kaduna line is known for frequent breakdowns, with an axle issue disrupting services last week.

A train went off the tracks near the same station in Jere in 2024, without causing any deaths.

Another derailment took place in 2023 near the Kubwa train station.

The service was interrupted for six months after a gang killed around a dozen people and kidnapped around 60 passengers in a 2022 attack. Those abducted were released after several months in captivity.

Inaugurated in 2016 after five years of works, the 186-kilometre-long (115-mile-long) line aimed to provide travellers a safe alternative to travelling by road, regularly hit by gunmen and traffic accidents.

Below are more images from the scene: