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Train accident kills 60, injures 450 in Congo

22 June 2010 15:34 (UTC +04:00)

The accident happened late on Monday night after the train left the coastal town of Pointe-Noire on the Chemin de Fer Congo Ocean (CFCO) line to the capital Brazzaville, a line which has seen at least two serious accidents in recent years.
"Unfortunately the train took a corner that turned out to be fatal," said a rail company source, who declined to be identified because he was unauthorized to speak publicly.
Four of the wagons careered into the ravine near the station of Yanga, around 60 km (40 miles) from Pointe-Noire, he said.
Some 60 bodies were recovered from the accident scene by midday Tuesday and about 450 people were being treated for injuries, according to an official at the Adolphe Cisse hospital in Pointe-Noire who asked not to be named.