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1994 Tolunda rail disaster

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1994 Tolunda rail disaster
Example of a 1990s Benguela railway freight train with fare-dodgers
Details
Date22 September 1994
Locationnear Tolunda, Namibe Province
CountryAngola
OwnerBenguela railway
Statistics
Trains1
Passengershundreds of fare-dodgers
Deaths300[1][2]
Injured146[1]-147[2]

The 1994 Tolunda rail disaster happened near Tolunda, in the Namibe Province, Angola on 22 September 1994. A freight train of the Benguela railway derailed due to malfunctioning brakes and crashed into a 10 metres deep ravine. 300 people died and around 147 people were injured.

It is among the deadliest train disasters in history.[3][4]

Background

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The disaster took place during the Angolan Civil War, but the location of the disaster was largely outside the area of the civil war.[5]

The disaster

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On Thursday 22 September 1994 a freight of the Benguela railway was en voyage in Angola with a cargo of granite blocks and with many fare-dodgers onboard.[6] Near Tolunda, in the Namibe Province 190 kilometres from Lubango, the train derailed and crashed into a ten meters deep ravine.[2] The accident location was in a very remote area and as so the rescue operation and other help arrived very late.[5]

Initial sources reported a death toll of 146 people.[5] The final official death toll was published by the Angola Press News Agency a week after the disaster on 29 September. The disaster caused 300 casualties and 146[1]-147[2] others being injured. Most of the victims were inside the wagons with granite blocks.[2]

The cause of the disaster was malfunctioning of the brakes.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "300 doden treinongeluk Angola". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 30 September 1994 – via Delpher.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Tol treinramp in Angola: 300 doden". Amigoe (in Dutch). 30 September 1994 – via Delpher.
  3. ^ "Notable International Rail Accidents". CNN. 22 October 2013.
  4. ^ "World's worst rail disasters". BBC. 19 December 2007.
  5. ^ a b c "Treinramp Angola". Trouw (in Dutch). 27 September 1994 – via Delpher.
  6. ^ Peter W. B. Semmens: Katastrophen auf Schienen. Eine weltweite Dokumentation. Transpress, p. 225, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3