Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham expressed her regret over the incident, and condoled with DR Congo government and people, specially the bereaved families of the victims.
The death toll after a speeding freight train derailed in the Southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo rose to at least 63, but dozens more may still be trapped in the wreckage, officials said on Wednesday, more than a day after the accident.
Katanga province interior minister Dikanga Kazadi said the casualty figures had increased to 63 dead and 80 injured by Wednesday afternoon, but dozens more could still be trapped under debris. Many of the injured were in a serious or critical condition and some of them had died of their injuries overnight.
"Ten carriages are lying completely destroyed nearly three meters (9.8 feet) from the track," Community Radio Katanga reporter said at the site of the disaster. "Right next to (the carriages) are 31 bodies arranged next to each other. There are 55 seriously injured people, some of them are moaning."
The accident happened at around 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday when a freight train belonging to the Congo National Railway Company (SNCC) derailed on a slope near a bridge in the town of Katongola, located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the city of Kamina in Katanga province. Freight trains in the country often also take passengers, with some of them sitting on top of the carriages.
