DRC train crash: at least 63 killed after derailment

2015-05-12 21

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At least 63 people were killed and 80 others seriously injured on Tuesday in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a speeding train derailed.

The train was travelling north from the town of Kamina in the southern province of Katanga to Mwene-Ditu in the diamond-mining province of Kasai-Oriental, AFP reported.

According to Daily Times Nigeria, the accident happened near the city of Likasi.

The goods train was also carrying passengers and was reportedly going too fast. When it came to a turn, the Daily Times Nigeria reported, the driver had to break suddenly, causing the train to overturn. Twelve of the carriages flipped off the track and at least 50 people were trapped inside.

An investigation has now been set up to establish the cause of the accident, but according to witnesses quoted by AFP hundreds of passengers were both in and on the train's cars and many them had paid an illegal reduced fare to ride the train without a proper ticket.

Congo's infrastructure is in tatters after decades of neglect and conflict, Reuters reported, making it hard for people to travel around the nation.

Train accidents are common.

More than 100 people were killed in a 2007 train accident in the province of Kasai Occidental.

The World Bank is currently funding a refurbishment of the country's train network, which has received few upgrades since the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960, AFP reported.

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