I now found the direct reply I got:
"Death toll continues to rise
Wednesday, June 26, 2002.
By Lwaga Mwambande, Dodoma
The number of deaths from the Monday passenger train accident in Dodoma reached 170 by yesterday afternoon, but was expected to increase as a crane at the accident site was now being used to disentangle coaches which have stuck together. Dozens of people gathered at the Dodoma Regional Hospital to check if their loved ones were among the injured and admitted to hospital or perished. By 5pm yesterday, a total of 85 bodies had been identified. The exercise to identify the bodies was going on at the Jamhuri Stadium where the bodies were laid for relatives and friends to view. The stadium was packed with thousands of people who were looking for their relatives. Hundreds more turned up out of curiosity as more bodies were being brought in by whatever transport. The police and other members of the security forces, who are overseeing the exercise, were busy making sure that everything was in order.
Many of those who thronged the stadium burst into tears after seeing the bodies of their loved ones. The Tanzania Railway Corporation is proving coffins and meeting all transport costs.
The Dodoma Regional Commissioner, Isidori Shirima, said the identification of the deceased would continue throughout the night and that bodies which would not be identified by today would be buried by the municipal council here.
The number of those injured in the accident who have been admitted to Dodoma Regional Hospital was given as 121 while 21 others were at Mirembe hospital. Over 460 accident victims were attended at the regional hospital and another 243 at the Mpwapwa district Hospital. Some of them were treated and discharged immediately. The number of those who were still admitted at Mpwapwa hospital was not immediately established yesterday.
The Director of Hospital Services from the Ministry of Health in Dar es Salaam, Dr. Zakaria Berege, said a team of six medical officers including surgeons, a nurse and an anaesthetist from Muhimbili National Hospital and Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute arrived here on Monday evening.
He said they immediately joined their Dodoma counterparts to attend the injured during the night until today.
Dr. Berege told journalists at the regional hospital that another medical team from the Morogoro Regional Hospital was at Mpwapwa district hospital for the same purpose.
Along with the medical professionals, the ministry has also brought in medical supplies to cope with the emergency situation.
Meanwhile, over 600 survivors who were on board the fateful train, left here yesterday to their respective destinations of Tabora, Kigoma, Shinyanga and Mwanza. These are mainly those who sustained minor injuries and those who miraculously escaped unhurt. As a result of the accident and different centres where the injured have been admitted, some people have been moving from Dodoma to Mpwapwa over 70 kms to search for their loved ones.
There are some who find them alive and admitted, but others end up frustrated for not seeing their relatives among the injured and the dead. Hospital workers in collaboration with some members of the public play a role to console them to be patient as the exercise to recover bodies is still going on. Former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi and the Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume visited those admitted to Dodoma Hospital.
President Ben Mkapa travelled to the accident site in the morning where efforts continue to separate the coaches which are stuck together.
Rescuers include TRC staff, members of the armed forces and the militia.
The CCM Central Committee has expressed shock and dismay following the train accident which occurred between Igandu and Msagali stations, about 70 kms from Dodoma town.
CCM Secretary General Philip Mangula said in a statement that the CCM Central Committee adjourned its ordinary meeting here. He thanked Dodoma residents and those of Msagali and Igandu for their support to the Victims."
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