Train crash in southern Congo 'kills 50'
BBC Page last updated at 09:35 GMT, Tuesday, 22 June 2010 10:35 UK
At least 50 people have been killed in a train crash in the south of Congo-Brazzaville, officials have said.
The head of the rail operator, Chemin de Fer Congo-Ocean (CFCO), said it occurred on Monday night about 60km (37 miles) from the city of Pointe-Noire.
The train is believed to have derailed as it went round a corner in a remote area between Bilinga and Tchitondi, throwing four carriages into a ravine.
The dead and wounded have been taken to hospitals and morgues in Pointe-Noire.
"There was a grave train accident during the night," CFCO director-general Sauveur Joseph El Bez told the AFP news agency. "There are dozens of victims and injured."
"The material damage was also very severe," he added. "All steps have been taken to organise relief."
Poorly maintained
A special adviser to the ministry of transport, Alphonse Pepa, confirmed there had been a "serious train accident, but we do not yet have an assessment".
An official, who did not want to be named, told BBC Afrique that 51 people had been killed.
The BBC's Will Ross says the 500km (310 miles) railway line was built during the 1920s and 1930s using forced labour, when France was the colonial power. Thousands died during the project.
It has since been poorly maintained, our correspondent says.
The whole line between the capital Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire was closed down in the late 1990s during the country's civil war. There have been at least two serious accidents since it re-opened.
This is the second accident in the country in recent days. A plane carrying mostly Australian mining executives crashed over the weekend, killing all 11 passengers on board.
50 killed in Congo train derailment
Brazzaville, Jun 22: A train enroute to the Capital of Congo Republic, Brazzaville derailed claiming the lives of around 50 passengers on Monday, Jun 21. Four of the wagons plunged into a ravine by the track, informed a national rail company source.
The accident happened on night after the train left the coastal town of Pointe-Noire on Chemin de Fer Congo Ocean (CFCO) line. There were two other serious accidents in recent years, in the same area.
"Unfortunately the train took a corner that turned out to be fatal," said a rail company source. He refused to be identified as he was an unauthorized person to speak publicly.
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50 killed in Congo train derailment
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Re: 50 killed in Congo train derailment
Dozens Die As Train Plunges Into Ravine
9:57am UK, Wednesday June 23, 2010
Andy Winter, Sky News Online
At least 48 people have been killed and more than 400 injured after a packed train crashed and plunged into a ravine in the Republic of Congo.
Government officials have already blamed the crash on excessive speed and called for three days of national mourning.
The train had left the coastal town of Pointe-Noire and was heading to the capital, Brazzaville, when it derailed.
Government spokesman Bienvenu Okiemy said: "According to the facts on the ground, excess speed is the main cause of this train accident."
Mr Okiemy added that the death toll could still rise - 15 people were critically injured and search teams may still find bodies in the wreckage at the bottom of the ravine.
So far, 405 people are known to have been hurt.
Speaking from hospital, survivor Lucien Koko said the train veered off the tracks after hurtling into a bend at full speed.
He said: "All six carriages where the passengers were derailed. We were thrown by the impact.
"Many people remain trapped. I can talk because I have a wound on my forearm. Friends who were with me are gravely wounded."
The government has confirmed it will pay for victims' funerals.
The CFCO rail line, which runs for about 300 mile through the central African country, has had difficulties in recent years with its old trains and lines.
In a statement, government officials said the crash is the third the train company has experienced in 19 years.
In 1991, a derailment killed 115 people and wounded many others.
9:57am UK, Wednesday June 23, 2010
Andy Winter, Sky News Online
At least 48 people have been killed and more than 400 injured after a packed train crashed and plunged into a ravine in the Republic of Congo.
Government officials have already blamed the crash on excessive speed and called for three days of national mourning.
The train had left the coastal town of Pointe-Noire and was heading to the capital, Brazzaville, when it derailed.
Government spokesman Bienvenu Okiemy said: "According to the facts on the ground, excess speed is the main cause of this train accident."
Mr Okiemy added that the death toll could still rise - 15 people were critically injured and search teams may still find bodies in the wreckage at the bottom of the ravine.
So far, 405 people are known to have been hurt.
Speaking from hospital, survivor Lucien Koko said the train veered off the tracks after hurtling into a bend at full speed.
He said: "All six carriages where the passengers were derailed. We were thrown by the impact.
"Many people remain trapped. I can talk because I have a wound on my forearm. Friends who were with me are gravely wounded."
The government has confirmed it will pay for victims' funerals.
The CFCO rail line, which runs for about 300 mile through the central African country, has had difficulties in recent years with its old trains and lines.
In a statement, government officials said the crash is the third the train company has experienced in 19 years.
In 1991, a derailment killed 115 people and wounded many others.
