# Cameroon rail disaster survivors seek justice a decade on

> Ten years after a train crash killed 79 people near Eseka, survivors live with serious injuries, some compensation unpaid, and an appeal against convictions remains unheard.
- Title: Cameroon rail disaster survivors seek justice a decade on
- Summary: Ten years after a train crash killed 79 people near Eseka, survivors live with serious injuries, some compensation unpaid, and an appeal against convictions…
- Keywords: cameroon, eseka, rail disaster, camrail, train crash, survivors, justice, news, world, rail, disaster, seek
- Source: RFI — https://rfi.fr/en/africa/20261021-cameroon-s-eseka-rail-disaster-survivors-still-waiting-for-justice-10-years-on
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: cameroon, eseka, rail disaster, camrail, train crash, survivors, justice, news, world
## 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.
## Key takeaway

A decade after Cameroon's deadliest rail disaster killed 79 people in October 2016, survivors still await full justice as compensation remains unpaid and criminal appeals go unheard.