KINSHASA, Congo
At least 75 people have been killed and 125 injured following a railway accident Friday in Lubudi, a territory in the southern DRC province of Lualaba.
Twenty-eight of the injured
suffered serious trauma and were referred to specialised medical centres for
treatment, according to a communiqué from the Ministry of Communication
published on Sunday.
DRC authorities concluded the
search for survivors on Sunday.
The train, from the Congolese
Railway Company (SNCC), derailed and seven of its 10 wagons ended up into a
ravine between the Kitenta and Buyofwe stations, about 10 kilometres from the
centre of Lubudi.
The train was also carrying
passengers.
Minister of Communication Patrick
Muyaya said that the Director General of SNCC, Fabien Mutomb, is expected in
Kinshasa on Monday over the train incident.
The train departed from the
Mwene-Ditu station in the Lomami province in central DRC and the accident
occurred nearly 600km further up the line.
President Félix
Tshisekedi offered condolences to the relatives of victims in a
tweet.
Train derailments are common
in Congo where rail lines and carriages are not well maintained. People will
often hop on freight trains to travel long distances because of a lack of good
roads and passenger trains.
Nine people died in October
when a train derailed in the same province, in Kenzenze in the Mutshatsha area.
No comments:
Post a Comment