Dozens killed in a train accident in Congo

At least 60 people have died early this Friday by the train derailment in Kolwezi regionin the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to local sources and the public railway company on Saturday.

Right now, “the balance is 61 dead, men, women and children” and of “52 wounded evacuated“, according to Marc Manyonga Ndambo, director of infrastructure for the National Railway Company of the Congo (SNCC), contacted by phone from Lubumbashi.

“Clandestine Travelers”

It was about a cargo train, which was carrying “several hundred clandestine travellers”. “Some bodies would still be trapped inside the fallen wagons in the ravines,” added Ndambo.

For their part, cited by the Congolese media, the governor of the province, Fifi Masuka, and the administrator of the territory where the accident occurred, Clementine Lutanga, have reported a provisional figure of 60 dead.

The train, made up of 15 wagons – 12 of them empty – came from the town of Luena, in the neighboring province of Haut-Lomami, and was headed for the mining town of Tenke, near Kolwezi, Ndambo said.

in a ravine

The railway has derailed in the town of Buyofwe, about 200 kilometers from Kolwezi, in an area with many ravines, where 7 of the 15 wagons have fallen, according to the person in charge of the transport company.

“My team is working hard to clear the tracks until Monday,” added Ndambo, without offering details of the reasons for the accident, although the poor state of the rails could be one of the causes.

frequent accidents

Related news

Train derailments are frequent in this African country, as are the sinking of overloaded ships in lakes and rivers.

Often, in the absence of passenger trains or passable roads, passengers take freight railways for long-distance journeys.