Three people are seriously injured in hospital after a collision between two trains at the Van Riebeeck Park Station‚ near Kempton Park‚ in Johannesburg‚ Metrorail said on Friday.
“What we know for now is that out of the 332 people that were injured‚ only three have been reported so far to be admitted to hospital and all the people who were treated in various hospitals have been discharged already‚” Metrorail Gauteng spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng told radio 702 early on Friday.
She said the three were not critical‚ but had sustained serious injuries‚ adding that there was no record of any fatalities.
Mofokeng told TimesLIVE earlier that Metrorail train 0659‚ travelling from Johannesburg Park Station to Pretoria‚ collided from the rear with train 0663‚ which was faulty and stationary at Van Riebeeck Park Station at 5.50pm on Thursday.
She said the injured commuters were taken to various hospitals‚ including Tembisa‚ Kalafong‚ Zamokuhle‚ Arwyp‚ Tambo Memorial‚ Linksfield‚ Bertha Gxowa and Milpark.
A train was made available to those who were not injured so they could continue to their destinations.
Mofokeng said there would be an inquiry into the cause of the accident and that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa would be working closely with other authorities.
“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.
William Ntladi‚ of Ekurhuleni emergency medical services‚ said a call was received at 5.50pm stating that there had been a train collision at the station.
“On arrival‚ we found two Metrorail trains had crashed. Both of them had passengers. Both trains were destined for Pretoria‚” Ntladi said.
Ernest Mabuza — TimesLIVE
