The Yaoundé train explosion was the catastrophic fire following the derailment and collision of two tanker trains hauling

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

through the capital of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

. At least 200 people were killed in the accident, which happened on February 14, 1998.

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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) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

fields along the

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

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 charac ...

, 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 s ...

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 Fires in Cameroon Deaths caused by petroleum looting 1998 disasters in Cameroon Vehicle fires in Africa 1998 fires

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