Yaoundé train explosion
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The Yaoundé train explosion was the catastrophic fire following the derailment and collision of two tanker trains hauling crude oil through the capital of
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
. At least 200 people were killed in the accident, which happened on February 14, 1998.


Details

The train was a regular industrial transportation service running from Cameroon's
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
fields along the
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n border to the capital Yaoundé, where it would either be processed at the Mvolye plant, or shipped directly to the coast for exportation. As it entered Yaoundé's suburbs in the mid-morning, it collided with another freight train heading south, and derailed. The tanker carriages were ruptured, and oil began to spill. A large number of local people and passing taxi drivers stopped to collect the oil in containers, which they could then sell on for a bit of extra money, when the disaster occurred. Apparently, one of the persons collecting fuel was smoking, and dropped a cigarette, creating a
flash fire A flash fire is a sudden, intense fire caused by ignition of a mixture of air and a dispersed flammable substance such as a solid (including dust), flammable or combustible liquid (such as an aerosol or fine mist), or a flammable gas. It is charact ...
, which travelled right back to the wrecked tankers, creating a massive fireball, which engulfed bystanders and persons collecting fuel. The emergency services arrived on the scene soon after the blaze started, but were for a long time held back by the force of the flames, which they were only able to contain, not extinguish. The fire did not stop burning for at least a day, and there were fears it might spread to the nearby central petroleum depot at Nsiam, although this was avoided. For days, a column of black smoke hung over the area of the blast. Authorities were unable to give an exact number of casualties, but the final number of confirmed dead was over 200 people. At least 150 people were at some time after the accident hospitalized after suffering burns. Railway services to the south of the country were cut off dealing another blow to Cameroon's oil industry, following a series of border skirmishes with Nigerian troops over control of the area two years previously. Former colonial rulers
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
sent numerous types of aid to Cameroon following the disaster, including several prestigious medical burns specialists, as well as financial and technical help. The cause of the crash is not known, but may have had something to do with poor equipment and maintenance on the rail system due to Cameroon's endemic corruption. Cameroon was labelled "most corrupt nation 1998" by
Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...
.


See also

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Lists of rail accidents This is the list of rail accident lists. Lists By year By type * By country * By death toll * Terrorist incidents See also * Classification of railway accidents * Derailment *Rail Transport * Train wreck * Tram accident A tram accident is ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaounde Train Explosion Explosions in 1998 Explosions in Cameroon Train and rapid transit fires Railway accidents in 1998 Transport disasters in Cameroon Train explosion 1998 in Cameroon 20th century in Yaoundé February 1998 events Fires in Cameroon Deaths caused by petroleum looting 1998 disasters in Cameroon