53 killed in derailment in Cameroon

[atillathehunn]

The train, carrying 1,300 people, derailed whilst travelling between Yaounde and Douala. 53 are believed to have been killed and over 500 injured.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37734958

At least 53 people died when a packed passenger train derailed and overturned in Cameroon, the country's transport minister says.

The train was travelling between the two biggest cities, Yaounde and Douala, when it overturned near Eseka.

The Associated Press said there were 1,300 people on the train instead of the usual 600.

The train was busier than usual as landslides caused by heavy rains have blocked roads across Cameroon.

Transport minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o said some 300 people were also injured in the derailment, and that the death toll was likely to rise.

Very sad news.

 

[Harbornite]

RIP to the victims.

 

[duesselmartin]

I know little about Cameroon. What is its safety record?

 

[Groningen]

The count stands now at 70.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Cameroon

 

[atillathehunn]

I know little about Cameroon. What is its safety record?

There's not a lot of information around on the subject.

The Wikipedia article above notes only this accident.

Sadly it looks like the death toll is set to continue to rise. The remote nature of the village and the lack of rescue equipment is surely hampering rescue efforts.

 

[J-2739]

How sad, no doubt this has brought great grieve to their relatives.

Sadly being a third world country, safety on the railways is practically non existent and like others said, the remote place makes 'help' a luxury.

 

[swt class 450]

Sad news. Could the overcrowding of this train be part of what caused this accident to happen?

I visited Cameroon (along with several other African countries in the area) quite a few years ago and travelled on the railways and it was clear that the safety was almost non existent. Although from my experience the railways in Cameroon seemed to be better maintained and a bit more reliable than the railways in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast and Sudan.

 

[atillathehunn]

Sad news. Could the overcrowding of this train be part of what caused this accident to happen?

I visited Cameroon (along with several other African countries in the area) quite a few years ago and travelled on the railways and it was clear that the safety was almost non existent. Although from my experience the railways in Cameroon seemed to be better maintained and a bit more reliable than the railways in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast and Sudan.

I think the rain is more likely. The train was crowded because the roads were blocked due to torrential downpours.

I then have a feeling the rain may have caused subsidence on the railway and hence this tragic derailment.

I would love to know more/see more about your trips to these countries though. Have you considered a trip report? Or even just put them on some kind of sharing server?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

How sad, no doubt this has brought great grieve to their relatives.

Sadly being a third world country, safety on the railways is practically non existent and like others said, the remote place makes 'help' a luxury.

I don't think because third world, therefore poor safety.

The trams in Addis Ababa are very well run.

The railways in Uganda and Kenya are quite fascinating. After heavy investment, there are now regular trains. The entire system - from Mombasa to Kampala - is controlled by a form of ERTMS from the Nairobi control centre. Having visited the station in Kampala I was very impressed by the professionalism of all the staff.

I have some photographs of the visit, though I have no idea how to attach them here.

 

[swt class 450]

I think the rain is more likely. The train was crowded because the roads were blocked due to torrential downpours.

I then have a feeling the rain may have caused subsidence on the railway and hence this tragic derailment.

I would love to know more/see more about your trips to these countries though. Have you considered a trip report? Or even just put them on some kind of sharing server?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I don't think because third world, therefore poor safety.

The trams in Addis Ababa are very well run.

The railways in Uganda and Kenya are quite fascinating. After heavy investment, there are now regular trains. The entire system - from Mombasa to Kampala - is controlled by a form of ERTMS from the Nairobi control centre. Having visited the station in Kampala I was very impressed by the professionalism of all the staff.

I have some photographs of the visit, though I have no idea how to attach them here.

Yes i think you could be right about the rain causing it. Especially considering that the track was quite old and the railway is not as well maintained as western countries. I dont know if Cameroon have anything similar to the RAIB but hopefully the cause will be investigated.

No i have never made a trip report but that is a good idea. I do have plenty of photos stored on my computer. Perhaps i will upload them to the trip reports section of this forum at some point or create a simple free website. It was part of an overload trip (in 2010) from the UK where i visited every country in Africa and tried to travel on every railway (although in some countries i went to like Benin and Togo the railways were completly out of use). It was very hard in terms of getting visas and the safety and security of many countries. The security situation in many of these countries has gotten worse in the past few years.

Yes i agree about that. Some third world countries do unfortunately have very poor safety (some of the worst railway safety i have seen was in the DRC). But some other third world countries do have better safety and these countries are slowly improving. As you say Kenya has made some huge improvements. I visted Kazakhstan / Kyrgyzstan / Tajikistan / Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan last year (in 2015) and was surprised to see that they are definitely improving in terms of modernisation and safety (in particular Kazakhstan).

 

[MarkyT]

While the reported heavy overcrowding is unlikely to have been the primary cause of the incident, overloading might have been contributory in some ways. Perhaps a greater load on the axles, shifted centre of gravity. Overcrowding will certainly have increased the casualties, not only because there were more people involved, but significant numbers may have been standing rather than sitting, even perched on the roof etc.

 

[atillathehunn]

Yes i think you could be right about the rain causing it. Especially considering that the track was quite old and the railway is not as well maintained as western countries. I dont know if Cameroon have anything similar to the RAIB but hopefully the cause will be investigated.

No i have never made a trip report but that is a good idea. I do have plenty of photos stored on my computer. Perhaps i will upload them to the trip reports section of this forum at some point or create a simple free website. It was part of an overload trip (in 2010) from the UK where i visited every country in Africa and tried to travel on every railway (although in some countries i went to like Benin and Togo the railways were completly out of use). It was very hard in terms of getting visas and the safety and security of many countries. The security situation in many of these countries has gotten worse in the past few years.

Yes i agree about that. Some third world countries do unfortunately have very poor safety (some of the worst railway safety i have seen was in the DRC). But some other third world countries do have better safety and these countries are slowly improving. As you say Kenya has made some huge improvements. I visted Kazakhstan / Kyrgyzstan / Tajikistan / Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan last year (in 2015) and was surprised to see that they are definitely improving in terms of modernisation and safety (in particular Kazakhstan).

I would love to see them if you have time.

I'm going to shoot you a quick PM if that's ok?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

While the reported heavy overcrowding is unlikely to have been the primary cause of the incident, overloading might have been contributory in some ways. Perhaps a greater load on the axles, shifted centre of gravity. Overcrowding will certainly have increased the casualties, not only because there were more people involved, but significant numbers may have been standing rather than sitting, even perched on the roof etc.

Potentially it may have been accessory after the fact. Though the notion of people hanging out of the side of the train is a bit out moded. The people I saw attempt this in Kenya and Uganda were quickly shouted at to get back inside.

 

[swt class 450]

While the reported heavy overcrowding is unlikely to have been the primary cause of the incident, overloading might have been contributory in some ways. Perhaps a greater load on the axles, shifted centre of gravity. Overcrowding will certainly have increased the casualties, not only because there were more people involved, but significant numbers may have been standing rather than sitting, even perched on the roof etc.

Yes indeed. On the BBC news article it says that there were 1300 people instead of the usual 600 people. Im not sure how many coaches the train was formed of but i imagine that there were indeed a lot of people standing. When i was in Cameroon i noticed that a lot of the trains had the doors open while moving so this could have made it worse.

I would love to see them if you have time.

I'm going to shoot you a quick PM if that's ok?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Potentially it may have been accessory after the fact. Though the notion of people hanging out of the side of the train is a bit out moded. The people I saw attempt this in Kenya and Uganda were quickly shouted at to get back inside.

Yes you can send me a PM. That fine.