SIDI BOUKNADEL, Morocco: At least seven people were killed and about 80 injured when a train was derailed near the Moroccan capital Rabat on Tuesday morning.
At least one wagon overturned in the incident near Sidi Bouknadel, a town 10 km north of Rabat, on a coastal line connecting the city of Kenitra to the commercial hub of Casablanca.
“I heard the very loud sound of the accident and rushed to the site, where I saw people screaming in fear and pain, while others were jumping out of the train windows,” a witness told Reuters.
Many of the injured were taken to the Moulay Abdellah hospital in Sale, near Rabat.
“Some people lost their arms and legs in the accident,” the medical source there said. Relatives of the victims wept at the hospital.
Some cases were treated at the Mohammed V military hospital in Rabat, state news agency MAP reported.
National railway operator ONCF said investigations into the cause of the crash were under way.
The royal court said King Mohammed VI would pay the funeral and burial expenses of the deceased.
