DR Congo: Second train derailment in two weeks kills seven | transport News

The accident is the second in two weeks in a country where train derailments regularly occur.

At least seven people died when a goods train derailed in the southeast Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second accident in the area in a fortnight, a local official has said.

The accident occurred in the village of Buyofwe, Lualaba province 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 AFP Monday.

The toll could rise because a large number of clandestine passengers were trapped under the upturned wagons, he said. A rescue team had been dispatched to the scene.

A local official from the national railway company SNCC said the eight-wagon train was travelling from Tenke, in Lualaba, to Kananga, in the neighbouring province of Kasai-Central.

It left the rails in Buyofwe, around 200km (125 miles) from Kolwezi, the provincial capital of Lualaba.

Trails frequently derail in the vast Central African country. There are not enough passenger trains and few negotiable roads, so people needing to cover long distances often travel by freight train.