Train attack victims still trapped in forest - witness

A number of passengers wounded in a UNITA rebel attack on a train 18 days ago were still hiding out in a nearby forest, unable to walk and awaiting rescue, a witness claimed on Tuesday. More than 250 people were killed and 160 injured in the 10 August attack between the towns of Zenza and Dondo, about 150 km east of the capital Luanda.

Lusa quoted the witness as saying that he had managed to reach the town of Dondo at the end of last week and that several wounded survivors were still in hiding near the scene of the attack. “These people are unable to walk and are waiting for us to come find them,” the unnamed witness said. He added, according to the report, that many people had died through lack of food and assistance.

Lusa reported further that a contingent of the police’s rapid intervention unit had visited the scene of the ambush last week and had found three new bodies. The report said the three had apparently left the forest thinking they would be more easily rescued if they stayed near the train. How they eventually died was not clear, the report said.