YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA): At least 55 people were killed and over 575 others injured when a train derailed in Eseka, around 120 kilometers (74 miles) from Cameroon’s capital city Yaounde.

The train left Yaounde at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) Friday and but derailed by midday, Cameroonian Transport Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o told state-run CRTV.

Many passengers said that at least seven railroad cars were involved in the accident. Between 1,200-1,300 people were traveling on the train, according to local media.

The injured were immediately transported to Eseka District Hospital. According to the operator Camrail — owned by French group Bollore — two crisis centers have been set up.

Governor of the Littoral region, Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua told reporters rescue teams and firefighters immediately rushed to the scene but did not give a reason for the derailment.

The situation appeared to be that of total desperation for most of the passengers who had resorted to the Douala train after a main road linking Cameroon’s political and economic capitals was blocked from the early hours of Friday, CRTV reported.

The road leading from the port of Douala to Yaounde is one of the largest in the country by traffic density. Trade to Chad and the Central African Republic also pass through this axis, which is one of the most dangerous in terms of accidents.

Muhabir Felix Nkambeh Tih

[Map of Cameroon. Creative Commons]