Passengers jump from windows in fatal train crash

Passengers were forced to jump from carriages in a train crash that killed 15 people in eastern Ethiopia, a local official has told the BBC.

The train derailed on Monday night in the town of Shinile, before colliding with a separate, stationary train, local broadcaster Dire TV reported.

It is unclear how many people were injured, with reports ranging from 27 to 29.

Photos published by local media showed several carriages overturned, and others crushed.

“The cause of the accident appears to be the poor condition of the train, which is very old and unable to handle heavy loads. We believe overloading was a major factor in the crash,” District commissioner Jibril Omar told BBC Somali.

He said the train was carrying both passengers and cargo, such as rice, pasta and cooking oil.

“Most of the passengers were young people, many of whom survived by jumping from the train,” Omar said, adding that it was travelling between the town of Dewele and the city of Dire Dawa when it crashed.

A spokesman for the Somali regional government, Mohammed Adem, said that all deceased and injured passengers had been recovered from the crash site.

An investigation into the cause of the collision has been launched, he said.

Train collisions are relatively rare in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation.

The Somali region is one of Ethiopia’s largest, and is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Somalis.

Additional reporting by Amensisa Ifa, BBC Africa