Annan "deeply saddened" by train crash

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday lamented the loss of more than 200 people killed in one of the worst railway disasters in Tanzanian history, between the Tanzanian administrative capital of Dodoma and the central town of Singida, on Monday. Annan offered his heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the people and government of Tanzania, according to his spokesman, Fred Eckhard. The UN leader wished Tanzanians "the strength to bear and overcome the heavy burden that the tragedy has placed on the country as a whole". More than 200 people died and over 900 were injured after a passenger train run by Tanzania Railways Corporation travelling from the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, the second-biggest town in Tanzania, on the southern shore of Lake Victoria, derailed after colliding with a goods train, overturning all but one of the passenger carriages. Rescue workers on Tuesday gave up hope of rescuing any more survivors, and President Benjamin Mkapa has promised a full inquiry into the tragedy, which was marked by national days of mourning on Tuesday and Wednesday. The passenger train, believed to have been carrying over 1,000 passengers, lost power as it attempted to climb a steep slope, and then slid backwards for up to 20 minutes before crashing into a freight train at a nearby station, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). There is some confusion as to why the train stopped at the small station of Ilhumwa, 25 km outside Dodoma, for perhaps 20 minutes before suddenly accelerating backwards and crashing into the freight train, according to news reports. Hundreds of relatives have been attempting to get inside Dodoma hospital for news about relatives, but the authorities there have denied access, leading to some anxiety and anger among relatives, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The Tanzania Red Cross Society contributed first aid assistance, stretchers, blankets, surgical gloves, mattresses, body bags and first-aid kits, while volunteers also offered psychological support to victims and provided tracing services for families looking for their loved ones. Members of parliament, which sits in Dodoma, including Health Minister Anna Abdallah (herself a doctor), took part in the rescue effort and ferried injured passengers to hospital. However, Tanzanian media have linked Monday's disaster with numerous air and rail crashes in the country over the past 10 years, and criticised alleged government inaction to improve health and safety measures on public transport. They also wondered why no disaster management policy had been put in place in Tanzania to address the causes of these accidents, and mitigate their consequences.