At least seven people have died as a goods train derailed in the South-East Democratic Republic of Congo, this is according to local officials. This is the second accident in the area in a fortnight.
The accident occurred in the village of Buyofwe, Lualaba province on Saturday.
In mid-March, a train came off the tracks in the same village, killing at least 75 people and injuring 125, according to the official toll.
“Seven people died and 14 were seriously injured” in the latest accident, Lualaba Interior Minister, Deoda Kapenda, told newsmen.
“The toll could rise because a large number of clandestine passengers were trapped under the upturned wagons,” he said.
It was gathered that a rescue team had been dispatched to the scene.
A local official from the national railway company said that the eight-wagon train was traveling from Tenke, in Lualaba, to Kananga, in the neighboring province of Kasai-Central.
It left the rails in Buyofwe, around 200 kilometers from Kolwezi, the provincial capital of Lualaba.
Trails frequently derailed in the vast Central African country. There were not enough passenger trains and few negotiable roads, so people needing to cover long distances often traveled by freight train.
