Yanga derailment

The Yanga derailment occurred on 21 June 2010 when a train travelling between Brazzaville and Pointe Noire in the Republic of the Congo was derailed and plunged into a ravine. At least 60 people were initially reported to have been killed and hundreds disappeared with the death toll expected to rise further.[2][4] The death toll had risen to 76 people and the injury toll had risen to 745 by 23 June 2010.[1]

Yanga derailment
Details
Date21 June 2010
LocationYanga
CountryRepublic of the Congo
LineBrazzaville – Pointe Noire
OperatorChemin de Fer Congo-Ocean
Incident typeDerailment
Statistics
Trains1
DeathsAt least 76[1]
InjuredAt least 745[1]
DamageHundreds of missing people,[2]
"severe" material damage[3]

The derailment compares with a similar incident which killed 100 people and injured 300 others in the Republic of the Congo's deadliest such incident in the country's history back in September 1991.[2] A chronological list of rail accidents since 2002 provided by The Daily Telegraph suggests this is the deadliest rail disaster since 28 April 2008 when at least 70 people were killed in China.[5]

Accident

On 21 June 2010, a train operated by Chemin de Fer Congo-Ocean (CFCO) derailed at Yanga,[6] between Bilingi and Tchitondi, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Pointe Noire. Four carriages were derailed. At least 51 people were reported killed at the time, with dozens more injured.[7]

The train was en route from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville at the time.[2] Four wagons fell down into a ravine.[8] Casualties and corpses were carried to the relevant location.[9] 16 people were left in a critical state of physical danger.[2] Photographs of the wounded show multiple limb injuries and wheelchair-using patients.[10] Family members gathered at Pointe Noire and Dolisie railway stations to seek news of their loved ones.[4] The material damage was said to be "severe".[3]

By 23 June 2010, the death toll had risen to 76 people and the injury toll had risen to 745.[1]

Cause

No cause for the crash was immediately established,[9] although excessive speed was blamed by the government.[11] The train was rounding a bend at the time.[8]

Response

The military and people from the Red Cross dashed to the area to offer their assistance to the stricken passengers.[2] President Denis Sassou Nguesso met with senior members of his administration after the incident.[9]

Three days of national mourning were declared by the Republic of the Congo's government.[11]

Funerals which had resulted from the incident were paid for by the government, according to an official statement, and mourning commenced in earnest the following Saturday.[12]

References
  1. "Congo train crash death toll rises to 76". TVNZ. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  2. "Republic of Congo train crash kills scores". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  3. "Train crash in Congo kills at least 60 people over 300 injured". National Turk. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  4. "60 killed in Congo train crash". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  5. "The world's worst rail accidents". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  6. "Around 50 killed in Congo train crash". TVNZ. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  7. "Train crash in southern Congo 'kills 50'". BBC News Online. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  8. "Sixty killed in Congo Republic train crash". Reuters. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  9. "Train crash in southern Congo 'kills dozens'". Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  10. "50 killed in train derailment in Republic of Congo". People's Daily. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  11. Winter, Andy (23 June 2010). "Dozens Die As Train Plunges into Ravine". Sky News. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  12. "Republic of Congo train crash kills at least 48". DAWN. Dawn Group of Newspapers. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.

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