South Africa Train Crash Injures 320 Passengers, Several In Serious Condition

At least 320 people were injured when a passenger train traveling from Johannesburg to Pretoria in South Africa collided with another train which was stationary on Thursday.

“The injured commuters were taken for medical attention at various hospitals,” Metrorail authorities said in a statement. “A board of enquiry will be instituted soon to determine the root cause of the accident.”

The incident took place 5:50 p.m. local time (11:50 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, in Kempton Park city, Gauteng, which was a peak time for rush hour traffic. Metrorail train 0659, traveling from Johannesburg Park Station, collided with train 0663, which was faulty and stationary at Van Riebeeck Park Station in Kempton Park.

"On arrival, we found two Metrorail trains had crashed. Both of them had passengers. Both trains were destined for Pretoria,” William Ntladi of the Ekurhuleni emergency medical services said, Sunday Times reported.

Among the 320 people injured, 32 suffered serious but not critical injuries. There were no fatalities reported.

“The injured commuters were taken for medical attention at various hospitals, including Tembisa, Kalafong, Zamokuhle, Arwyp, Tambo Memorial, Linksfield, Bertha Gxowa and Milpark Hospitals,” Gauteng Metrorail spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said.

Multiple agencies were expected to investigate the incident.

“Metrorail technical teams will be working around the clock to recover the site. The cost of the accident is still unknown at this stage,” Mofokeng said, News 24 reported. “Metrorail would like thank commuters for their support and understanding during this difficult time and sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience caused.”

Another train was made available for Pretoria for some of the commuters who were on the train so they could proceed to their destination without delay.

Following the accident, South African Transport Minister Blade Nzimande was called upon by the United National Transport Union (UNTU) to suspend the services of Metrorail.

"UNTU warned that passenger trains are death trains and that the situation is life threatening. The Minister, the Railway Safety Regulator and Prasa ignored us," said UNTU spokesperson Sonja Carstens.

Later, UNTU announced that the services of Metrorail will be suspended until the operator could ensure the safety of its travelers.

Although Metrorail boasts of being the cheapest form of public commute, as well as the largest railway network in the nation, it has been plagued by reports of mismanagement and under-investment, Reuters reported. According to a 2016-2017 report by South African government’s Rail Safety Regulator, 2,079 were injured and 495 people died while traveling in Metrorail trains. The numbers increased by five percent from 2015-2016 fiscal year.

In September, 100 people were injured in a similar collision in the south of Johannesburg, while in January, around 200 people were injured in another Metrorail train crash.