Train crash in southeast Congo kills at least 34

A train crash in Congo on Sunday killed at least 34 people and injured at least 26 others in Lualaba province in the country’s southeast, a government official said. (Photo by Conal Gallagher/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

KINSHASA, Congo — A train crash in Congo on Sunday killed at least 34 people and injured at least 26 others in Lualaba province in the country’s southeast, a government official said.

The injury and death toll is likely to rise because some train cars are on fire and some were carrying fuel, Lualaba governor Richard Muyej Mangez said. The wounded were sent to Lubudi hospital about 30 kilometres (18 miles) away from the crash site in Buyofwe, he said.

Radio Okapi reported that the National Railway Company of Congo train was carrying passengers and cargo from Lubumbashi to Luena, and 11 of its 13 cars caught fire. The cause of the accident is not yet known.

Local officials and train authorities have travelled to the scene.

Lubudi’s chief medical officer said he was able to transport about 30 of the people injured to a hospital, and others remained at the scene awaiting transport, according to Radio Okapi. He said some of those injured lost limbs.