A freight train derailed in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo early Thursday, killing illegal passengers who were riding on it, in the latest rail tragedy to strike the vast central African nation, officials said.
But in a chaotic situation, estimates of the death toll varied widely, from 10 to a hundred.
"Another disaster! Derailing at 3am (0100 GMT) in Tanganyika (province) near Mayibaridi. Provisional toll: 50 dead and several injured," the minister for humanitarian action, Steve Mbikayi, said in a tweet.
In contrast, the provincial governor, Zoe Kabila, who is the brother of former president Joseph Kabila, issued a tweet that said, "Correction... provisional toll 10 dead, 30 injured and three railcars overturned."