Cameroon train was travelling at ''abnormally'' high speed

A senior official of Bollore Africa Railways has said the train which derailed in Cameroon last week killing at least 79 passengers and injuring 600, was travelling at high speed before the crash.

Eric Melet, head of Bollore Africa Railways, the company that runs the railway line, said on the tracks approaching the station the train’s speed was ‘‘abnormally high compared to the speeds we should have had’‘.

Melet said trains travelled at between 40 and 50 kilometres per hour in “slow zones” such as approaches to railway stations.

But there are indications which ‘‘seem to show that the approaching train was travelling at between 80-90 kilometres an hour when it should have been much less.”

The train was on its way from the capital, Yaounde, to the economic hub of Douala when it derailed and carriages flipped over.