An investigation into a train crash in central Tanzania which killed 228 people found the accident was caused by human error and driver’s negligence, the investigation team said on Wednesday.
The crash – Tanzania’s worst rail accident – happened in June after a passenger train carrying more than 1 200 people stopped on the brow of a hill and then careered backward and smashed into a cargo train.
The passenger train’s engine stopped as it was going up the hill at which point the driver, Godfrey Chiwelesa, failed to use the braking system correctly, allowing the train to roll backward, the government-team said in a statement.
The statement did not explain why the engine stopped.
”The basic reason why the train raced backward was a result of human error due to the driver’s inexperience,” the statement said.
Survivors said Chiwelesa jumped off the train when it started rolling backward.
Chiwelesa, who suffered minor injuries in the accident, has been held in police custody since June, but has not been charged.
The train’s third class carriages were overloaded and had no partitioning which meant they collapsed easily, the investigation found.
The team recommended that the government create a national disaster preparedness unit.
Last week, the government said it has set aside $184 000 to make ”consolation payments” to the relatives of victims and survivors of a train crash.
Passenger trains in Tanzania are uninsured. – Sapa-AP