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The death Toll has risen to 75 and about 600 people remain in critical conditions in hospitals after a train derailment accident in Esseka-Cameroon yesterday 21, October 2016.

The packed Camrail train, operated by French industrial group Bollore, had been travelling from Yaounde to the port city of Douala when it derailed, causing several carriages to overturn.

"The train with wounded and the bodies of victims has arrived at Yaounde station in the presence of government and Camrail officials," Camrail posted on its official Facebook page early on Saturday.

"Busses drove passengers who escaped yesterday's incident to Douala." 

Work began during the night to remove the derailed wagons from the line - one of the main transportation routes for goods and passengers between the coast and the interior.

Camrail has given no indication of what might have caused the accident. However, witnesses, including a Reuters reporter travelling on the train, said rail workers had added extra carriages to accommodate extra passengers before its departure.

A Bollore spokeswoman said the company would communicate on the accident in coordination with Cameroonian government authorities, but added that the immediate focus was on rescue operations.

A Bollore official based in the region, who was not authorized to speak with the press and asked not to be named, said the company was cooperating with authorities examining the crash.

"Camrail has made the train's conductor and its mechanic available to the judicial police, because in these kinds of circumstances that is the procedure. That will allow for an understanding of what happened," the official said.

He added that traffic along the Yaounde to Douala line, which was halted following the crash, was expected to resume soon and engineers were at the site of the accident to evaluate the damage.

The collapse of a section of the main highway between Yaounde and Douala earlier on Friday had blocked hundreds of vehicles on the road and prompted increased numbers of passengers to undertake the journey by rail.

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Rita Akana

22.Oct.2016

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Cameroonian engineers  use a  cargo container for the repairs of the Douala-Yaounde highway which collapsed yesterday 21, October 2016..

This is a container. A metal box designed to transport goods that technicians have installed to improvise a bridge at Mányai Matomb to help restore circulation  between Douala-Yaoundé.

This  road is the busiest  in the country, Heavy trucks and transporters can be seen passing by all day long, will such a metal container be capable of withstanding the heavy tonnes of the cargo trucks?

According to officials, the work should be completed today Saturday, 22. October 2016. The government says the container is just a temporal solution to enable circulation on the busy highway.

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Rita Akana

22.Oct.2016

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The Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, Ni John Fru Ndi told Equinoxe Radio today that the sad incidents Friday in Matomb and Eseka shows how decay the system he has been condemning for years now is.
Ni John Fru Ndi said he had earlier criticized the state of that road and even the bad state of Cameroon's railway system and trains.

He said the "so called" emergency measures carried out by government after the incident are meaningless and will not change the fact that souls have perished, economy killed and cameroonians frustrated because of an incompetent regime.

He extended his condolences to bereaved families and called all to pray and assist them even the injured .

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Prince Nfor Hanson

22.Oct.2016

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Several hours after the Cameroon train disaster, the absentee President Paul Biya finally makes a statement.On his official Facebook account the President writes;

Speaking about President Biya's reaction to the situation, Minister Tchiroma declared: "The President of the Republic who is closely following the situation has given strict instructions to the Prime Minister Head of Government  to hold a crisis meeting to address this issue".

"The Head of State has instructed the Government to provide all the necessary assistance to the families whose loved ones were injured or died during the train derailment. He has also requested that an investigation be opened in order to shed light on the cause of this accident". He added.

"To conclude, the President of the Republic is assuring the population that the government is taking necessary measures to bring things to normal, and urges them to show their usual solidarity in such circumstances, and to respect the memory  and dignity of the victims and their family" Minister Tchiroma concluded.

Our eyes and ears are opened to the government's physical support to the families as promised.

Thatcher Real

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Rita Akana

22.Oct.2016

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 A train belonging to Cameroon Railway Company, CAMRAIL has derailed along the Esseka in Nyong and Nkele Division, Centre Region leaving over 50 dead and over 250 injured. According to passengers on board the Passengers 152 locomotive had left Yaoundé around 11am with close to 3000 persons on board. At the time it reached the Esseka train station over 15 wagons separated from the locomotive causing it to summersault several times leaving several persons dead.

Some passengers say they only succeeded to break the screens of their suit to escape, while those who could not were trapped in the train.

A passenger says the train nicknamed ‘Boko Haram’ was on high speed and that the locomotive had many wagons more than it could take. We are told about 3000 people were on board, a majority are those who got stranded at travel agencies following the split of the road Douala-Yaoundé.

The death toll is not known but dozens are believed to have died and hundredths injured. The injured victims were taken to Esseka district hospital .

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Prince Nfor Hanson

22.Oct.2016

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Rita Akana

20.Oct.2016

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