102 Killed as Train Derails in Myanmar
One hundred and two people were killed and 53 injured when a train ran out of control on a steep hill in Myanmar, in what broadcast reports Saturday said was the country’s deadliest train accident ever.
State radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp., said the train linking Mandalay and Myitkyina was derailed Friday when its brakes failed and that one of the carriages plunged into a ravine.
Several other carriages of the mixed cargo-passenger train reportedly overturned or came off the rails, and one passenger carriage was said to have been left hanging from a bridge.
The train bound for Myitkyina, the Kachin state capital, had reached Wuntho township about 135 miles north of Mandalay when its brakes failed on a slope, sending it hurtling out of control down the hill.
The reports did not mention how many passengers were aboard the train.
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