The crash that killed 79

A Camrail train derailed near Eseka, around one hundred kilometres from Yaoundé, on twenty-first October two thousand sixteen, killing seventy-nine people and injuring more than five hundred.

Why the train crashed

The train was travelling at ninety-six kilometres per hour on a section limited to forty kilometres per hour.An investigation found the train was overloaded, extra carriages had been added, and some had defective braking systems.

Management ignored warnings

The investigation report said Camrail management had failed to take into account concerns raised by the train driver before departure. The extra carriages were added because road traffic was disrupted that morning.

Eugénie's lasting injuries

Survivor Eugénie, now thirty-nine, suffered several fractures including one to her neck and has since lost her independence.She said: I can't do anything by myself.I always need someone to be at home with me.

“I can't do anything by myself. I always need someone to be at home with me.”

A body never found

Dorette Dissakè, a prominent notary in Yaoundé, was killed in the crash but her body has never been found.Her husband, lawyer Thomas Dissakè, recently enlisted experts to search the ground at Eseka for human remains.

Convictions but no appeal hearing

In September two thousand eighteen, Camrail and eleven employees were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.The company's former managing director received a six-month suspended sentence.Camrail appealed the ruling but the appeal has still not been heard.

Compensation still unpaid

Lawyers representing victims said the compensation awarded was too low given the physical and psychological harm suffered. Some payments have still not been made ten years after the disaster.