Cameroon’s President announced on Saturday that more than 70 people had been killed and another 600 injured when a passenger train crashed on Friday.

The packed Camrail train had been travelling from the capital Yaounde to the port city of Douala. It was derailed at around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) near the station in the town of Eseka, 120 km west of the capital, causing carriages to overturn.

Witnesses said rail workers had added additional carriages to accommodate extra passengers before its departure, though it is not clear if that decision contributed to the accident. </s> Fifty-three people were killed and nearly 300 injured on Friday when a packed passenger train travelling between Cameroon’s two largest cities derailed and overturned, the transportation minister said.

Speaking on state radio, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o said the figures represented a provisional toll from the accident, which occurred near the train station in the town of Eseka, around 120 km (75 miles) west of Yaounde. </s> At Least 70 Die In Train Derailment In Cameroon; Hundreds Injured

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The death toll is rising at the site of a train derailment in Cameroon, with President Paul Biya saying the crash of the crowded car Friday killed more than 70 people and wounded 600 more. The train was packed with people because rains had washed out a frequently used road Thursday.

"My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the #CAMRAIL train derailment in #Eseka," Biya wrote on his Facebook page Saturday.

The derailment occurred around midday Friday on the line that connects Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, to the country's largest city, Douala. Travelers had crowded onto the train because a section of the main road between the two cities had collapsed.

Hours before the crash, the train station in Douala was "mobbed" with people trying to make the trip to the capital, according to local website Karawa's Diary.

As emergency crews and members of the public sought to help victims of the crash in Eseka, some 30 miles away, crews worked through the night to repair the collapsed portion of the road near Matomb — and by midday Saturday, the road was reopened to at least partial use, broadcaster Cameroon Radio Television reports.

The cause of the derailment is still under investigation; the privatized train line is operated by Camrail, a French-owned company that's responsible for maintaining the tracks and bridges used by the train. </s> At least three people were killed and others were injured when a packed passenger train traveling between Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, and the port city of Douala derailed and overturned on Friday, witnesses said.

"There are many injured. We are still in the phase of evaluating the situation. We cannot give even a provisional toll," said an official for national rail company Camrail, who asked not to be named. </s> 75 are reported dead and about 600 people injured in Friday’s train derailment accident in Cameroon.

This is a rise in the toll confirmed yesterday which was previously 53 dead, 575 injured and 14 trapped in the carriages.

Original story

A train derailed in Cameroon on Friday reportedly killing about 10 people and injuring over 60 people who were on board.

According to local media, the accident occured in Eseka on the line between the country’s main cities, Douala and the capital, Yaounde. The train was said to be packed.

Pictures circulating on social media showed that the derailed train had overturned near the tracks. Dead bodies and injured persons were also at the scene of the accident. The state owned CRTV showed people giving injured persons first aid.

De nombreux blessés pris en charge et des morts enregistrés lors du déraillement de cette mi-journée m. Le bilan consolidé reste attendu. pic.twitter.com/rGcrspj53M — CRTV web (@CRTV_web) October 21, 2016

“There are many injured. We are still in the phase of evaluating the situation. We cannot give even a provisional toll,” said an official for national rail company Camrail, who asked not to be named.

A local hospital official also confirmed that 10 corpses were brought in from the accident scene. Local journalists confirmed that the train was very packed at the time of the accident.

The French ambassador to Cameroon, Gilles Thibault, tweeted a condolence message to the families and victime of the crash. ‘‘I present condolences saddened families and loved ones of the victims of the crash of the Yaoundé – Douala.’‘

Je présente mes condoléances attristées aux familles et aux proches des victimes de l'accident du train Yaoundé- Douala #Cameroun #Cameroon — Gilles Thibault (@G_Thibault_Fr) October 21, 2016

Rail is one of the key modes of transport in the country. It serves in transporting both people and goods. Due to the speed of rail, people usually cram unto coaches to get to their destinations.

The rail company had earlier denied via its facebook page that there was an accident. They later confirmed the incident and said they were working to provide official details of the incident. </s> ESEKA, Cameroon — Cameroon's transport minister says at least 53 people have died after a train overloaded with passengers derailed along the route that links the country's two major cities.

Transport Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o said the derailment Friday also injured at least 300 people. State radio is reporting that the crash occurred in Eseka, about two hours from the capital, Yaounde.

Journalists have been blocked from the scene by angry crowds.

Rail officials say the train had been carrying 1,300 passengers instead of the usual 600. The accident comes as heavy rains have caused landslides along roads in the region. </s> The train, crammed with people due to road traffic disruption between the two cities, left the tracks just before reaching the central city of Eseka. By Fred Dufour (AFP/File)

YaoundÃ© (AFP) - Fifty-three people died when a packed Cameroon passenger train derailed on Friday while travelling between the capital Yaounde and the economic hub Douala, state broadcaster Crtv said.

The train, crammed with people due to road traffic disruption between the two cities, left the tracks just before reaching the central city of Eseka, Transport minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o said earlier. </s> Fifty-three people were killed and nearly 300 injured on Friday when a packed passenger train travelling between Cameroon’s two largest cities derailed and overturned, the transportation minister said.

Speaking on state radio, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o said the figures represented a provisional toll from the incident, which occurred near the train station in the town of Eseka, about 120km (75 miles) west of Yaounde.

Camrail, which is operated by France’s Bollore Railways, confirmed on its Facebook page that an accident had occurred. Passengers put the time of the accident at around 11am.

“There was a loud noise. I looked back and the wagons behind us left the rails and started rolling over and over. There was a lot of smoke,” said a Reuters journalist travelling in a wagon near the front of the train.

He said that, before its departure from Yaounde, a railway employee said eight additional wagons had been added to the normally nine-wagon train to accommodate extra passengers, though it was unclear if that played a role in the accident.

The collapse of a bridge along the main highway between the capital and Douala had prompted increased numbers of passengers to undertake the journey by rail.

Joel Bineli, a passenger, told Reuters he saw the dismembered bodies of three fellow passengers on the tracks at the accident site. Social media users posted photographs purported to have been taken at the scene of the accident which showed several wagons overturned on a slope beside the rail line.

“Rescue workers arrived and they are pulling bodies from the wagon. I’ve already counted around 40 bodies they’ve removed, but I cannot confirm if they are dead or wounded,” said Rachelle Paden, another passenger.

Camrail said it had sent teams to the site but declined to give any further information on the incident. A Bollore spokesman would only confirm that an accident had occurred.

Many rail lines in west and central Africa have a reputation for poor maintenance and failing to respect safety norms. Derailments are relatively common.

Though Bollore is generally viewed as a reliable operator, it experienced another major incident last month when part of a bridge along a line it controls in Ivory Coast collapsed under a freight train. </s> ESEKA, Cameroon (AP) — At least 53 people have died after a train overloaded with passengers derailed along the route that links Cameroon’s two major cities, the country’s transport minister said late Friday.

At least 300 others were injured in the accident in Eseka, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital, Yaounde, said Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, who was at the scene.

Rail officials told state radio that the train traveling between Yaounde and the port city of Douala had been carrying 1,300 passengers instead of the usual 600. The accident came as heavy rains have caused landslides along roads in the region.

Officials were on the way to assess the situation and visit hospitals, state media reported.

The government will take care of the injured, Health Minister Andre Mama Fouda said.
A passenger train derails in central Cameroon, killing at least 53 people and injuring 575 others.