Tanzania: Annan 'deeply saddened' at news of tragic train crash

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today mourned the deaths of more than 200 people who were killed in a passenger train accident on Monday in Tanzania.

The Secretary-General was deeply saddened by news of the crash, which "profoundly touched all of us at the United Nations," a spokesman for Mr. Annan said at a press briefing in New York.

The Secretary-General expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the people and Government of Tanzania, according to spokesman Fred Eckhard.

"He wishes the people of Tanzania the strength to bear and overcome the heavy burden that the tragedy has placed on the country as a whole," Mr. Eckhard added.