Train Crash Near Kroonstad, South Africa, Kills at Least 18
In the first and second coach there were people injured." The Railway Safety Regulator of South Africa, a government agency, says
that 495 people died in train accidents in South Africa last year, with 2,079 injured — almost six daily.
4, 2018
JAN. 4, 2018
CAPE TOWN — A passenger train burst into flames on Thursday after striking two vehicles at a crossing in a remote
part of central South Africa, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 260, the authorities said.
200 miles botswana Mpumalanga Johannesburg Kroonstad namibia lesotho south africa Shosholoza Meyl Port Elizabeth Indian Ocean JAN. 4, 2018
Mthuthuzeli Swartz, the acting chief executive of Prasa, told local news outlets
that 18 people died in the collision on Thursday, a figure that could not be confirmed by the provincial health authorities.
The crash appeared to be the deadliest since 2012, when the driver of a truck carrying farmworkers collided
with a train at a crossing in Mpumalanga, a province in northeastern South Africa, killing 26 workers.
Russel Meiring, a spokesman for ER24 Emergency Medical Services, a private rescue provider, said
that South Africa had seen some train collisions caused by incorrect markings at crossings, but that the problem was more often people taking a chance and thinking they could beat the train.