"The 13-car train was leaving the town of Lubumbashi for the village of Luena when it crashed into a ravine" in Lualaba province, local governor Richard Eataba told dpa.
Several compartments caught fire after the crash on Sunday, according to Eataba.
Authorities expected the death toll to rise, as emergency workers were searching the wreckage for bodies.
There was no confirmation of the number of passengers travelling on the train.
At least 30 people were killed and dozens of others injured when a train derailed and caught fire in eastern Congo, a government official said Monday.
