ESEKA, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon rescue workers and hospital staff say the death toll from an overloaded train that derailed on Friday is higher than announced, saying at least 73 are dead.
People at the accident site on Saturday continued looking for others injured and dead. Bodies are strewn along the tracks.
Officials have put the death toll at 53 but say it will climb as they race to transport more than 600 injured people to hospitals in the capital, Yaounde, and the port city where the train was going, Douala.
President Paul Biya ordered the evacuation because Eseka’s hospital is overwhelmed.
Rescue workers and medical staff spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the press.
The train carried about 1,300 passengers, instead of its capacity of 600.
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