Death toll in Congo train accident rises to 75

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According to the Democratic Republic of Congo's Communications Ministry, an accident on Thursday left 75 dead and 125 people injured after a train was derailed in the southeastern part of the country.

Officials reported 60 men, women, and children were killed and 52 initially injured when the freight train derailed on Thursday.

After visiting the scene with a team created to examine the catastrophe, Fabien Mutomb, the chairman of the state railway corporation, the SNCC, announced the updated toll.

According to the Communications Ministry, 28 of the injured are in critical condition.

The SNCC's infrastructure director, Marc Manyonga Ndambo, told AFP on Saturday that the train was made up of 15 wagons, 12 of which were empty.

The train had departed from Luena and was scheduled for arrival at the mining town of Tenke, near Kolwezi.

It derailed on Thursday 11:50 pm (21:50 GMT) at Buyofwe, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Kolwezi, with seven of its wagons tumbling into ravines.

Manyonga Ndambo, calling by phone from Lubumbashi, claimed it was carrying several hundred stowaways at the time.

On Sunday, he reported the track was cleared earlier in the day and wagons had to be taken away.

Because of the scarcity of passenger trains and the difficulty of traveling by road, people frequently board freight trains to traverse the wide nation.

Mutomb is due to return to Kinshasa on Monday to report on the scope of the damage, according to the Communications Ministry.