At least 60 people were killed in a train crash last Friday in Lubudi, a territory in Lualaba province. The Congolese Public Railways (SNCC) train ended its journey in a ravine between Kitenta and Buyofwe stations about ten kilometers from the center of Lubudi. This freight train also transported free passengers.
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as reported from Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
The accident occurred when the old locomotive wanted to cross a slope, but due to lack of power due to congestion, 7 of the 10 cars ended up in a ravine. It was the day after the tragedy that Clémentine Lutanda, the administrator of the Lubudi territory, went to the scene aboard another train:
“The Red Cross is there, the scouts are there. We bought sheets so we could bury the dead. There are injured people who are here in Lubudi, there are injured people who are here on the side of Luena, she states. Of course, there are also minor injuries, abandoned children. There is, for example, a two-year-old child whose father and mother died on the spot. Everyone has been moved to hospital. »
Recreational passengers The victims were squeezed under the derailed cars. While the railway company qualifies the passengers as “illegal”, the civil society in Lubudi speaks for its part of a business that is well maintained by the carriers.
As evidence, its facilitators explain that some passengers on board this train came from the departure station in Muene Ditu in the province of Lomami. Others were picked up at various stations along the way.
At SNCC, contacted officials explain that in the absence of other means of transport, freight trains are used by free passengers who force themselves on the rails. They stop the train and board.
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