Three people were killed and 66 others injured after a passenger train derailed in central Tanzania on Saturday evening, said the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) on Sunday.

The train was ferrying 720 passengers from the country's port city Dar es Salaam to up-country regions of Tabora, Katavi, Kigoma and Mwanza, when it derailed 58 km from the capital Dodoma, the TRC said in a statement, adding that six of the 12 wagons derailed at around 7 p.m. local time in the Kigwe-Bahi area.

TRC officials, along with security staff, were investigating the cause of the deadly accident, said the statement.

TRC Director General Masanja Kadogosa told Xinhua over phone that heavy rains in the area could be the culprit. Enditem