At least 15 killed in a train crash in Tanzania

by yuls.source | March 29, 2009 at 09:39 am

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A cargo train has hit a stationary passenger train in the town of Dodoma in central Tanzania on Sunday, killing at least 15 people. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash. Currently, the train wreckage is being separated by cranes to retrieve the bodies of victims. Officials say the death toll may rise.

A goods train hit a stationary passenger train in central Tanzania Sunday, killing at least 15 people, a government official said.

William Lukuvi, the regional commissioner of Dodoma town where the crash occurred, said the accident happened around midday Sunday.

"We are investigating the cause of the accident, which has already claimed at least 15 lives," Lukuvi said by phone. "Cranes have been ordered to help separate the crumpled wreckage and retrieve bodies."

The death toll may rise, he said. The line has been closed and an investigation has begun.

Tanzania's worst train accident was in 2002, when more than 200 people were killed and hundreds wounded just outside Dodoma after a passenger train's engine failed. It rolled back downhill and collided with a moving freight train, derailing all but one of the carriages.

Most of Africa's railways date back to colonial days and they are often poorly maintained.