The Benaleka train accident occurred on August 1, 2007 near

Benaleka Benaleka or Bena-Leka is a settlement in Kasai-Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located 220 km (137 mi) northwest of Kananga. The elevation is 467 m (1,532 ft). Transport Benaleka is served by a station on the nat ...

in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, killing at least 100 people and seriously injuring 128 more. The accident happened in a remote location northwest of

Kananga Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital city of the Kasai-Central, Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï-Occidental , Kasaï-Occidental Province. It is ...

West Kasai Kasaï-Occidental ( French for "Western Kasai"; lua, Kasai Wa Mubuelu) was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Kasaï-Central and the Kasaï provinces. History ...

province at 11 PM local time. The crash was caused by the failure of the train's brakes. Eight cars derailed; many of those killed had been riding on the roofs and were trapped underneath. The driver was able to detach the

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

and go for help. Many of the injured were carried by bicycle or even on the backs of others to the nearest hospital, six miles away. It is one of the deadliest rail accidents on the African continent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benaleka Train Crash Railway accidents in 2007 Derailments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Runaway train disasters Kasai-Occidental 2007 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo August 2007 events in Africa Kasaï-Central