AfricaPress-Tanzania: March 22, 2020 will go down in history as one of the darkest days for the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) after five of its employees, including senior officials died after an horror crash in Tanga region.
The Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) confirmed five of their employees died, four on the spot, when a rescue train collided with a trolley car number HDT – 3 between Mwakinyumbi and Gendagenda station along Ruvu and Mruanzi Junction railway line.
TRC named the deceased as Transport Manager- Tanga Zone Ramadhani Gumbo, Engineer Fabiola Moshi (Passenger wagon maintenance manager- Dar es Salaam Zone) and the Assistant Transport Manager- Dar es Salaam Zone Joseph Komba.
Others are the Rail Infrastructure Security Specialist Philibert Kajuna and a trolley car driver George Urio.
The quintet’s demise is certainly a huge loss to the rejuvenated railway transportation sector and the tragic incident comes a few months after the revival of the northern route train, which resumed operations from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro last December.
According to the statement issued yesterday by TRC Spokesperson, Ms Jamila Mbarouk, the accident involved six TRC officials, with four dying on the spot, while two were rushed to Magunga District Hospital in Korogwe, Tanga region.
Ms Mbarouk pointed out that one of the victims passed away at around 23:00 on Sunday, making a total of five deaths.
“The injured victim by the name of Elizabeth Bona, a Railway Flag woman is still recuperating in hospital,” said Ms Mbarouk.
The cause of the accident is yet to be established as investigation into the matter was to involve several authorities, said the TRC spokesperson.
The government has revived the train transport between Dar es Salaam and Northern regions. Whereas the passenger route began early December, the Tanga-Moshi cargo train services had started since July, last year following extensive repair work on the rail line after it was out of use for 12 years.
Some 800 tonnes of cement from Tanga Cement were transported to Moshi on the re-launch of the cargo train services expected to provide reliable freight transport between the port of Tanga and the northern regions of Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara.
