A train derailed on Sunday in the south of the Central African Republic of Congo, killing 31 people and injuring scores of others, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.
It was unclear what caused Sunday’s crash, which occurred about 150km south of the capital, Brazzaville, government spokesperson Alain Akouala said.
The train, carrying food supplies and an unspecified number of passengers, was headed to Brazzaville from the southern Pool region, a rebel stronghold.
The rebels, who call themselves Ninjas, have been blamed for ambushing trains in the area in the past, but there was no indication they were responsible the incident.
The derailment was the first reported since a March 2003 peace deal between rebels and the Republic of Congo’s government. — Sapa-AP