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Death toll in train crash could hit 100 -- radio

KINSHASA: The death toll in a weekend train derailment in southern Zaire could reach as high as 100, Zairean radio said Monday. The Voice of Zaire said many casualties were evacuated to a nearby hospital while others remain trapped in overturned carriages following the accident late Saturday at Kiazi, 162 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital Kinshasa.

Correspondents at the scene said the train had split in two at the station to await another locomotive, and quoted witnesses who said one half of the divided train had started to roll back downhill.

The train driver attempted to reverse the remainder of the train to link up with the escaping carriages, but failed. The runaway carriages sped downhill for around five kilometres (three miles) before coming off the rails.

Accident investigators and rescue teams were supervising the operation to free trapped bodies and clear the line.

The Matadi-Kinshasa track is the main line for goods and passengers between the capital and lower Zaire.

Zaire has been hit by several major transport accidents this year.

On April 1, 40 people died in a road accident about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Kinshasa, while more than 300 perished when an Antonov An-32 aircraft crashed into a market during takeoff from Ndolo airport near the capital on January 8.-APP