Fatal level crossing crash in Mpumalanga

[John Ashworth]

Train crash: Body parts strewn over 200m

2012-07-13 12:03
News24

Johannesburg - Emergency personnel are having a difficult time counting the number of dead at an Mpumalanga level crossing accident because body parts were ripped apart and strewn over 200m, police said on Friday.

The accident happened when a coal train ploughed into a truck carrying farmworkers at a level crossing near Hectorspruit.

At least 19 people were killed. A spokesperson for Mpumalanga’s community safety department told AFP it appears that more than 30 people were killed.

"It is a very gruesome scene. Some bodies are without heads and some without limbs. Forensic teams are still working on the scene," police spokesperson Joseph Mabusa said.

The truck was carried 200 metres by the impact, leaving body parts in its wake and making it hard for forensic experts to say how many people were killed, he added.

"The driver was taken to hospital. His condition is unknown. It's difficult to say what happened but at this stage it seems that the truck miscalculated as it was crossing the railway line."

Emergency services said at least 24 other people were injured, some of them critically.

State rail operator Transnet said the train was carrying coal for export to Mozambique, but there was no derailment. The coal was destined for the Indian Ocean port of Maputo.

South Africa train crashes into farm truck, killing 19

BBC 13 July 2012 Last updated at 09:13 GMT

A train has hit a truck carrying farm workers at a railway crossing in South Africa, killing at least 19 people, officials say.

The crash took place in the north-eastern province of Mpumalanga.

Officials say the exact number of dead is difficult to determine as bodies are strewn all over the track.

Some 50 workers were said to be on the truck and the private ambulance company Netcare 911 said that 24 people had been taken to hospital.

"It would appear as if the truck driver may have crossed the railway line without having a proper look-out and as a result the train hit him and then pulled him for a kilometre to two kilometres," Thulani Sibuyi, head of Mpumalanga's community safety department, told the AFP news agency.

He feared the death toll could be as high as 30.

"The bodies are lying all over the scene, people torn apart," he said.

The train was carrying coal for export to Mozambique, Michael Asefovitz, a spokesman for Transnet - the country's main transporter of freight, told Reuters news agency.

According to the News24 website, the farm workers were fruit-pickers being taken to work.

More than 30 killed in S. Africa train crash

By AFP | 13/07/12

More than 30 people were on Friday killed in South Africa when a train ploughed into a truck carrying dozens of farm workers on a railway line, an official said.

"What we know at this stage is that more than 30 people appear to have died at the point of impact," said Thulani Sibuyi, head of eastern Mpumalanga province's community safety department.

Victims had been "torn into pieces" and parademics were still on the scene near Malelane, east of the provincial capital Nelspruit, he said.

"It would appear as if the truck driver may have crossed the railway line without having a proper look-out and as a result the train hit him and then pulled him for about a kilometre to two kilometres," said Sibuyi.

"The bodies are lying all over the scene, people torn apart and so forth."

The exact numbers of dead and the many injured who had been taken to hospital still needed to be confirmed, he said.

The truck was transporting about 50 people to farms, he said.

[John Ashworth]

Moving ceremony for 24 farmworkers

Sunday Times 22nd July 2012

More than 18000 mourners yesterday attended the mass funeral of the 24 farmworkers who died after their truck was hit by a train at a level crossing last week.

NB: When you click on the link to try to read the rest of the story, it tells you you have to register.

[Steve Appleton]

Yes, the Johannesburg Sunday Times has decided to implement a "paywall", forcing web visitors to subscribe and pay for detailed content. A controversial startegy, especially for lesser newspapers whose audience may simply decide to get their news elsewhere.