The toll in the derailment of a train in Cameroon rose to 70 on Saturday after some of those injured in the accident succumbed to injuries, Reuters reported. Fifty-five people died and nearly 600 people were injured on Friday after the Camrail-operated train travelling to the the port city of Douala from the capital city of Yaounde derailed near Eseka station, around 120 kilometres west of Yaounde.
Cameroon President Paul Biya assured full assistance to the survivors of the derailment and said the country would conduct investigations to determine the cause of the accident. Biya also declared Monday a day of national mourning. “My sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the derailment of the Camrail train,” the president said.
The country’s transport minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o called on rescue workers to increase their efforts to “save the lives of the injured”, according to The Guardian. Camrail, which is operated by French company Bollore, said it was working with Cameroonian officials to provide assistance to the injured and the families of those who died in the accident. A Bollore official said Camrail had made the train’s conductor and mechanic “available to the judicial police” for their investigations.
Earlier on Friday, a section of the main highway linking the capital city to Douala had collapsed, leading to a higher volume of passengers making the train journey. Additional coaches had been added to the train to accommodate the extra passengers, according to a Reuters reporter who was in a wagon towards the front. However, it was unclear whether the bigger load caused the accident.
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