Chinese President Jiang Zemin has sent his condolence to the government and people of Tanzania for the heavy loss of life and property in Monday's train collision.
In his condolence message delivered on Tuesday to Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, President Jiang said that he was shocked to learn that an incident of train collision occurred in Tanzania, causing heavy causalities and property losses.
"On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in my own name, I hereby would like to convey to Your Excellency, and through you to the Tanzanian government and people my deep sympathy as well as profound condolence to the bereaved families," said the president.
The accident occurred in central Tanzania district of Dodoma on Monday morning when a passenger train carrying more than 1,000 people derailed, causing at least 200 people dead and hundreds of others injured.
The tragedy was the second fatal accident in recent days after 42 miners died from suffocation in a tanzanite gemstone mine near northern city of Arusha due to the failure of an air-supplying compressor last week.
(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2002)
