By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
Dodoma, Tanzania - Children killed in Tanzania's worst rail disaster were buried in a mass grave on the outskirts of Dodoma on Thursday as the last victims of the crash that killed 281 people were laid to rest.
Mourners covered their faces against the stench of rotting flesh as soldiers lowered 11 small bodies into a pit and women sobbed uncontrollably.
"Why did God let this happen to these innocent children?" cried one mourner.
Rescuers said they had retrieved all the bodies from the wreckage of a passenger train which crashed on Monday with about 1 200 people on board. The train suffered a mechanical fault on a hill and slammed backwards into a following freight train.
Government officials had feared the death toll could climb above 300, but put the final official toll at 281 dead and 371 injured people still in hospital.
A further 88 unidentified bodies, some believed to have been parents of the children, were draped in white cloth and buried in individual graves.
"The rescue operation is officially over. There are no more bodies at the wreckage," said Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye. "The only work that remains to be done is opening up the rail traffic, because there are thousands of passengers stranded."
The crash has unleashed an outpouring of anger, with some Tanzanians pointing a finger at rail workers who had threatened to sabotage the utility following a dispute with the government over retirement packages.
Government officials say they have all but ruled out sabotage in the crash and an investigation is under way.
"This is not a time for witch-hunting. This is the work of Satan. Let's not try to blame anybody," Father Atilio Mnyenyelwa said at the funeral service.
The trains collided between Igandu and Msagali, southeast of Dodoma and about 400 km west of Tanzania's main city and commercial capital Dar es Salaam. Rescue efforts were hampered by the remoteness of the crash site.