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Train crash kills at least 200 in Mozambique
Train crash kills at least 200 in Mozambique
Maputo - About 200 people have been killed and 300 hurt in a train crash in the southern African nation of Mozambique on Saturday, May 25. The accident happened on Saturday morning May 25, 2002, near the town of Tenga in Maputo province, 40 km (24 miles) from the capital Maputo, Transport and Communications Minister Tomas Salomao told reporters. "There are at least 117 dead," Salomao said. "There are many in a serious condition and the death toll could climb."
Radio Mozambique quoted police and fire department sources as saying the train had "technical problems" with its brakes. But Salomao said the cause of the accident was still unknown and investigators had done to the scene to investigate.
The train was described as being made up of freight cars and passenger carriages and was travelling on the Maputo-Ressano Gracia railway that links Mozambique with South Africa.
President Joaquim Chissano cancelled meetings in his home village of Malaice in southern Mozambique on hearing the news and was returning to the capital, a senior minister said. "At this time of tragedy, I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives," Chissano said in a brief statement issued to the media in Maputo.
"The government will mobilise all means at its disposal to assist the affected families, whose who have lost loved ones and those who are injured," Chissano added.
The injured were being transferred to Maputo's main hospital as well as other health facilities. Health officials issued an urgent appeal for blood, saying it was required to save lives.
"We are appealing for blood to save lives," the ministry said in a statement. Officials at the main Maputo Central Hospital said volunteers had already began to gather. Reuters/USAfricaonline.com
These views were
stated during an interview CNN's anchor Bernard Shaw and
senior analyst Jeff Greenfield had with Mr. Nwangwu on
Saturday November 18, 2000 during a special edition of
'Inside Politics 2000.'
Arafat's
duplicity, terrorism at the heart of
Israeli-Palestinian crises. By Barry Rubin
Martin Luther
King's
legacy,
Jews and Black History Month. By Chido Nwangwu
INSIGHT: How
Obasanjo's
self-succession
charade
at his Ota Farm has
turned Nigeria to an
'Animal
Farm.'
By Prof. Mobolaji
Aluko
Obasanjo's
'prayers' and the
Abacha path of staying in power. By Nkem
Ekeopara
Is
Obasanjo ordained by God to rule
Nigeria? And, other
fallacies. By Prof. Sola
Adeyeye
Nelson
Mandela, Tribute to the
world's political superstar and Lion of
Africa. By Chido Nwangwu
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's
burden
mounts with murder charges, trials
Why Bush should focus on dangers
facing Nigeria's return
to democracy
and Obasanjo's slipperyslide
TRIBUTE
A KING FOR
ALL TIMES:
Why Martin Luther King's
legacy
and vision are relevant into 21st 21st
century.
DIPLOMACY
Walter
Carrington:
African-American diplomat who put principles above self for
Nigeria 
(USAfrica's
founder Chido Nwangwu with Ambassador Carrington at the U.S.
embassy, Nigeria)
Private initiative,
free
market forces, and more
democratization
are Keys to prosperity in Africa
Should Africa debates begin and end
at
The
New York Times and
The
Washington Post?
No
Johnnie Cochran
will soon learn that defending Abacha's
loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson's
case.
By Chido Nwangwu
The Economics of Elections
in Nigeria
HUMAN
RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
How far, how deep will Nigeria's human rights
commission go?
Rtd. Gen. Babangida trip as
emissary for Nigeria's Obasanjo to Sudan raises curiosity,
questions about what next in power
play?
Nigeria as a Nation of Vulcanizers
Community Service Awards bring African-American, American
policy
and business leaders together with African
community at Texas Southern University
110 minutes
with Hakeem Olajuwon
Cheryl
Mills' first class defense of Clinton and her detractors'
game
Nigerian
stabbed
to death
in his bathroom in Houston.
Nigeria at 40: punish financial thuggery,
build
domestic infrastructure
Is Obasanjo really up to
Nigeria's challenge and crises?
By USAfricaonline.com
contributing editor Ken Okorie. Commentary
appears from NigeriaCentral.com
DEMOCRACY'S
WARRIOR
Out
of Africa.
…The
cock that crows in the morning belongs to one household but
his voice is the property of the neighborhood. -- Chinua
Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah. An editor carries on
his crusade against public corruption and press
censorship
in his native Nigeria and other African countries. By
John Suval.
RELIGION
AND ETHNIC CONFLICT
Sharia-related
killings and carnage in Kaduna reenact deadly prologue to
Nigeria-Biafra war
of
1967.
CONTINENTAL
AGENDA
Bush's position on
Africa
is "ill-advised."
The position
stated by Republican presidential aspirant and Governor of
Texas, George Bush where he said that "Africa will not be an
area of priority" in his presidency has been
questioned by USAfricaonline.com Publisher
Chido Nwangwu. He
added that Bush's "pre-election position was neither
validated by the economic exchanges nor geo-strategic
interests of our two continents."
Nwangwu,
adviser to the Mayor of Houston (the 4th largest city in the
U.S., and immigrant home to thousands of Africans) argued
further that "the issues of the heritage interests of 35
million African-Americans in Africa, the volume and value of
oil business between between the U.S and Nigeria and the
horrendous AIDS crisis in Africa do not lend any basis for
Governor Bush's ill-advised
position which
removes Africa from fair consideration" were he to be
elected president.
By Al Johnson
The
Civilianizing of African soldiers
into
Presidents
Why Dr.
Martin Luther King's vision
is valid into the 21st century
Why Powell's
mission to the Middle
East failed. By Jonathan Elendu
Africa
suffers the scourge of the virus.
This life and pain of Kgomotso Mahlangu, a
five-month-old AIDS patient (above) in a hospital in the
Kalafong township near Pretoria, South Africa, on October
26, 1999, brings a certain, frightening reality to the
sweeping and devastating destruction of human beings who
form the core of any definition of a country's future, its
national security, actual and potential economic development
and internal markets.
22 million Africans HIV-infected, ill
with AIDS
while African leaders
ignore disaster-in-waiting
In a special report a few hours after the history-making
nomination, USAfricaonline.com
Founder and Publisher Chido Nwangwu places Powell within the
trajectory of history and into his unfolding clout and
relevance in an essay titled 'Why Colin
Powell
brings gravitas, credibility and star power to Bush
presidency.'
AFRICA
AND THE U.S. ELECTIONS
Beyond U.S.
electoral shenanigans, rewards and dynamics of a democratic
republic hold
lessons
for
African politics.
It's wrong to stereotype Nigerians as
Drug
Dealers
Since 1958, Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" set a standard
of artistic excellence,
and more. By Douglas Killam
Apple announces Titanium,
"killer
apps" and other
ground-breaking products for 2001. iTunes makes a record
500,000 downloads.
Steve Jobs extends
digital
magic