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Passengers were forced to jump from carriages in a train crash that killed 15 people in eastern Ethiopia, a local official has told the BBC.<\/p>\n
The train derailed on Monday night in the town of Shinile, before colliding with a separate, stationary train, local broadcaster Dire TV reported.<\/p>\n
It is unclear how many people were injured, with reports ranging from 27 to 29.<\/p>\n
Photos published by local media showed several carriages overturned, and others crushed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The cause of the accident appears to be the poor condition of the train, which is very old and unable to handle heavy loads. We believe overloading was a major factor in the crash,” District commissioner Jibril Omar told BBC Somali.<\/p>\n
He added that the train was carrying both passengers and cargo, such as rice, pasta and cooking oil.<\/p>\n
“Most of the passengers were young people, many of whom survived by jumping from the train,” Omar said.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Somali regional government, Mohammed Adem, said that all deceased and injured passengers had been recovered from the crash site.<\/p>\n
An investigation into the cause of the collision has been launched, he said.<\/p>\n
The train was travelling between the town of Dewele and the city of Dire Dawa when it crashed.<\/p>\n
Train collisions are relatively rare in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation.<\/p>\n
The Somali region is one of Ethiopia’s largest, and is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Somalis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n