Yaoundé railway accident

The Yaoundé railway accident was the explosion of two tank cars in a southern district of Yaoundé , the capital of Cameroon , on February 14, 1998, killing 220 people.

accident

Several freight cars of a train , the fuel transported, derailed the day in the afternoon in NSAM, a densely populated southern district of Yaounde, near a large fuel depots . Two vehicles with 100 cubic meters of fuel leaked and leaked. Many residents of the area around the accident site, car and taxi drivers, rushed to the accident site, which was not cordoned off to secure leaking fuel. There were a lot of people at the scene of the accident when a second train approached and drove into the derailed vehicles. Two tank cars exploded. Only now did security forces cordon off the scene of the accident.

A rumor that a carelessly discarded cigarette triggered the explosion has not been confirmed.

consequences

220 people died and at least 100 others suffered severe burns .

The extinguishing work lasted a whole day. The then French President Jacques Chirac congratulated the Republic of Cameroon and France sent four doctors and two nurses , who also brought 7 tons of medical equipment for the treatment of burn injuries, as well as specialists from the Paris fire department to the scene of the accident.

The government of Cameroon set up a commission of inquiry.

Web links

• ANB-BIA: Weekly News Issue of: 19-02-1998, PART # 1 . From: The Guardian v. February 16, 1998.
• ANB-BIA: Weekly News Issue of: 19-02-1998, PART # 1 . From: Liberation v. February 16, 1998.
• Communiqué du ministère des affaires étrangères français . In: Les discours dans l'actualité v. February 16, 1998.
• The world's worst train accidents . In: Rhein-Zeitung .
• Explosion au Cameroun . In: Les six minutes of February 15, 1998, see here .
• NN: France sending emergency medical supplies to Cameroon after explosion kills 120 . In: BBC News v. February 15, 1998.
• NN: message . In: Le Calendrier on February 14, 1998.
• NN: message . In: The Capital v. February 15, 1998, p. 2.
• NN: message . In: The Galveston Daily News v. February 15, 1998, p. 2.

Remarks

1. ↑ So: Communiqué du ministère , other sources also speak of “oil”, but the violence of the explosion speaks more in favor of gasoline .
2. ↑ First reports mentioned e.g. Sometimes different numbers, which is not unusual for first-time reports: ANB-BIA / Liberation and ANB-BIA / The Guardian, both v. February 16, 1998 and NN: France sending : 120 dead, Communiqué du ministère : 150 dead.
3. ↑ ANB-BIA / The Guardian v. February 16, 1998 names 150, ANB-BIA / Liberation v. 200 seriously injured on the same day .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ANB-BIA / Liberation v. February 16, 1998.
2. ^ Explosion au Cameroun .
3. ^ NN: Report in "The Galveston Daily News".
4. ^ NN: Report in: Le Calendrier.
5. ↑ ANB-BIA / Liberation v. February 16, 1998.
6. ↑ ANB-BIA / Liberation v. February 16, 1998; ANB-BIA / The Guardian v. February 16, 1998; NN: Report in "The Galveston Daily News"; NN: Report in "The Capital".
7. ^ NN: Report in "The Galveston Daily News" with reference to Defoe Mambo, the then coroner of Yaoundé.
8. ↑ ANB-BIA / Liberation v. February 16, 1998.
9. ↑ ANB-BIA / Liberation v. February 16, 1998; NN: France sending .
10. ^ NN: Report in "The Galveston Daily News"; ANB-BIA / The Guardian v. February 16, 1998.
11. ^ NN: Report in: Le Calendrier.
12. ^ NN: Report in "The Galveston Daily News".
13. ↑ ANB-BIA / The Guardian v. February 16, 1998; Communiqué du ministère .
14. ^ Communiqué du ministère .
15. ↑ ANB-BIA / The Guardian v. February 16, 1998 (Editor's update February 17, 1998).

Coordinates: 3 ° 49'59.1 "  N , 11 ° 30'53.1"  E