At least 60 people were killed Thursday night into Friday when a train derailed in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources and the public railway company said today.
At this stage, "the toll is 61 dead, men, women and children" and "52 injured who were evacuated from the scene," Marc Manionga Dambo, director in charge of infrastructure at the Congo's National Railway Company (SNCC), told Agence France-Presse by telephone from Lubumbashi.
He said the train was a freight train which, although banned, was carrying "several hundred stowaways."
"Some bodies are believed to remain trapped in the wagons that fell into the ravines," he added.
Manionga said the train consisting of 15 wagons, 12 of which were empty, was coming from Luena, in neighbouring Upper Lomani province, and was heading to the mining town of Tenke, not far from Coluezi.
7 of the 15 wagons fell into a ravine[BR]It derailed on Thursday night at 23:50 in a village, about 200 km from Coluezi, "in a place where there are ravines", into which 7 of the 15 wagons fell. "My team is working tirelessly to clear the road by Monday," Manionga added."
He did not comment on the cause of the accident, but cited the age of the rails as probably one of the causes.
According to Congolese media, the governor of the province and the commander of the territory where the train accident occurred gave a provisional death toll of 60.
Train derailments are common in DR Congo, as are the sinking of overloaded ships in the country's lakes and rivers.
Often, due to a lack of passenger trains or good roads, passengers use freight trains to travel long distances.
Source: APE-MPA
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