At Least 125 Die in Train-Truck Crash in Zaire

A speeding truck plowed into a moving train at a railroad crossing, killing at least 125 people in a remote area near the border with Zambia, the AZAP national news agency reported Saturday.

Belgian Embassy diplomats, citing reports from Belgian rescue workers at the site of Thursday night’s accident, said they believe the toll had risen to at least 143.

Zaire President Mobuto Sese Seko declared two days of national mourning to end at noon Monday in what reports said was the worst accident in the history of the Central African nation, a former Belgian colony.

AZAP and other reports said the train was hit by a trailer-truck and plunged off the tracks Thursday night at Kasumbalesa in Shaba province, about 60 miles southeast of Lubumbashi in southeastern Zaire.

AZAP said at least 125 people died and several more were critically injured. The Voice of Zaire radio said 113 people were killed outright.

Breakdown Unavailable

It was unclear how many of the dead were in the train and how many were in the truck.

Driver Unaware of Train

Officials said the truck sped onto the rail crossing, apparently unaware of the oncoming train.

Zairian army Sgt. Agbagime-te-Gwelo, who was hitching a ride in the cab of the truck, said the driver was speeding so fast he could not hear the locomotive or see pedestrians signaling him to slow down.

Witnesses said that when the driver finally saw the train he was 20 yards from the crossing, panicked and let go of the steering wheel. The truck careened into the first car behind the locomotive, causing it and the next car to derail.

AZAP said the crash was the third at the crossing, and officials expressed concern that stricter safety measures had not been imposed by the state-run railway company.