Rabat - An ONCF train has derailed on Tuesday morning, between Rabat and Kenitra, killing as many as five people, including the train’s engineer.
Rabat – An ONCF train has derailed on Tuesday morning, between Rabat and Kenitra, killing as many as five people, including the train’s engineer.
The train conductor is severely injured and some of the passengers have lost limbs, eyewitnesses told Morocco World News. Some 86 people have been wounded.
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The deputy mayor of Sale, Abdelatif Soudou, has stated on his Facebook page: “Train coming to Sale derails in Bouknadel, 5 people have died … may God have mercy.”
The National Office of Railroads (ONCF) has not yet responded to Morocco World News’ request for further information or comments.
Delays in an ambulance arriving prompted passengers and bypassers to take initiative and retrieve bodies from the accident.
Royal gendarmes and 10 ambulances later arrived at the scene to care for the injured.
The minister of interior, Abdelouafi Laftit; Minister of Equipment Abdelkader Amara; and Rabii Lakhli, director of ONCF all came to the scene in the following hours.
All trains from Kenitra to Casablanca are currently on hold. Royal gendarmerie helicopters are currently hovering over the scene of the incident.
King Mohammed VI has reportedly instructed the interior minister to transfer the wounded passengers to the military hospital in Rabat.
According to eyewitnesses, some individuals have taken advantage of the incident to loot from the luggage of other passengers.
Videos of the accident began to circulate on social media at 10:30 a.m.
The National Office of Railroads (ONCF) has not yet responded to Morocco World News’ request for further information or comments.
The incident comes amid the final phase of ONCF’s plan to launch Morocco’s high speed train (LGV) between Casablanca and Tangier.
Following a series of tests, which have been carried out since February 2017, LGV is expected to start operating by the end of 2018. In October 2017, the French Development Agency (AFD) granted an €80 million loan to fund the last segment of the project.
