25 killed in Myanmar tanker train explosion

YANGON, Myanmar - Twenty-five people were killed in northern Myanmar when a derailed tanker train burst into flames as they were trying to skim fuel from its overturned carriages, state television reported Friday

The report said 62 other people were injured Friday morning after the train hauling seven carriages of gasoline and two of diesel derailed near Kantbalu about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Yangon. It was travelling from Yangon to the Kachin state capital of Myitkyina.

The report said the injured were being treated at two nearby hospitals.

A witness, Myint Kyi, told the U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia that the dead included 16 men, seven women and two bodies so badly burned their gender was not immediately apparent. He gave the number of injured as 74.

No explanation has been given for the accident, but Burma's railways are in poor condition after years of neglect.

Officials told the BBC Burmese service that three wagons overturned and burst into flames.

There were seven wagons carrying petrol and two more of diesel, officials said.

The number of people killed in the accident was unclear. The government said 25 people died and 62 people were injured.

But emergency officials told the BBC that more than 80 were wounded, and that 27 had been killed.

Two people died after being transferred to hospital, emergency officials said.

Saturday 10 November 2012

http://www.klfy.com/story/20052873/25-killed-in-myanmar-tanker-train-explosion