The passenger train involved in the accident was travelling on a Camrail line between the capital, Yaoundé, and the country's largest city and economic hub, Douala. Because of recent heavy rains, a landslide had destroyed a bridge on the main road connecting the two cities, forcing many people to travel by train instead. As a result, Camrail extended the 9-carriage train with 8 additional carriages. The number of passengers on board was reported to be around 1,300, more than double the intended capacity of 600 of the unextended train, and the train left Yaoundé at 11:00 local time with a slight delay. A Reuters journalist travelling on the train reported a loud noise and smoke as several of the carriages derailed around midday local time in Eséka, about west of the capital. Victims were transported to a local hospital in Eséka, as well as to facilities in Douala. Social media images showed several carriages overturned on a slope beside the rail line, as hundreds of passengers looked on. Because of the accident and the earlier bridge collapse, Cameroon's main transportation axis was effectively cut for the time being.
Investigation
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, Camrail announced they will send investigative teams to the site, and expressed their condolences to the victims' families in a post on the company's official Facebook page. Rail officials said that prior to the train's departure from Yaoundé, eight additional carriages were added to the normally nine-car train in order to accommodate additional passengers, but it was not immediately known if that had caused or contributed to the crash. On the Tuesday following the crash a Cameroonian court announced that they would begin an investigation into who was at fault for the accident. The following day Bolloré's Africa Chairman announced that the train had been traveling above the speed limit when it crashed.
Government commissioned reports
The Cameroonian Government commissioned four reports to evaluate the cause of the accident and planned to release their own findings in a separate report. Reuters reported that at least one of the four confidential investigations found that Camrail had "total and entire responsibility" for crash and that the railroad had improperly inspected the train before its doomed journey. The report found that of the 17 carriages on the train, 13 had malfunctioning braking systems and that Camrail administrators ignored warnings from Camrail personnel before the accident.
