Around 50 people were killed when two trains collided in Congo Republic on the recently reopened rail line between the capital Brazzaville and the port of Pointe-Noire, state radio reported today.
The accident, in which about 100 people were also injured, happened yesterday at the station at Mvougounti, around 75 km (45 miles) east of Pointe-Noire.
Both trains were freight trains but were carrying passengers, the radio said. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
Freight traffic resumed after a break of two years in August 2000 following repairs to track and rolling stock that were damaged by rebel activity. Last week saw the first designated passenger train make the trip in more than two years.
The station at Mvougounti was the scene of Congo's worst rail disaster in 1992, when 112 people died after a passenger train collided with a freight train. -Reuters