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South Africa train crash: 'Bodies burnt beyond recognition' | South Africa train crash: 'Bodies burnt beyond recognition' |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A passenger train has caught fire in South Africa after colliding with a truck, killing at least 18 people and injuring 268, rescue workers say. | |
Some of the bodies are "burnt beyond recognition", Free State Health Department spokesman Mondli Mvambi told South African news site Times Live. | Some of the bodies are "burnt beyond recognition", Free State Health Department spokesman Mondli Mvambi told South African news site Times Live. |
Video footage showed a fire blazing through at least one carriage, near a crushed car and an overturned truck. | Video footage showed a fire blazing through at least one carriage, near a crushed car and an overturned truck. |
Evacuated passengers were seen standing on the roadside with luggage. | Evacuated passengers were seen standing on the roadside with luggage. |
The collision occurred near Kroonstad city in Free State province, after the truck failed to stop at a crossing, a passenger told local media. | The collision occurred near Kroonstad city in Free State province, after the truck failed to stop at a crossing, a passenger told local media. |
Around 700 people were on the train when it was hit by a truck, a BBC correspondent has reported. | |
'They didn't make it' | 'They didn't make it' |
The driver of the truck tried to flee, but was arrested by police, passenger Seipati Moletsane told the privately owned eCNA news site. | The driver of the truck tried to flee, but was arrested by police, passenger Seipati Moletsane told the privately owned eCNA news site. |
Passengers in the first two coaches were wounded, she added. | Passengers in the first two coaches were wounded, she added. |
"I was so traumatised. I didn't know what to do. I was looking for a door just to jump out. Every door was locked... All of a sudden, we just saw smoke, smoke, smoke," Ms Moletsane said. | "I was so traumatised. I didn't know what to do. I was looking for a door just to jump out. Every door was locked... All of a sudden, we just saw smoke, smoke, smoke," Ms Moletsane said. |
A tweeter posted a video of the fire. | A tweeter posted a video of the fire. |
The emergency services rushed to the scene and battled the blaze on the train, which had been travelling from the coastal city of Port Elizabeth to the commercial capital, Johannesburg. | The emergency services rushed to the scene and battled the blaze on the train, which had been travelling from the coastal city of Port Elizabeth to the commercial capital, Johannesburg. |
Officials fear the number of dead could rise, reports the BBC's Lebo Diseko from Johannesburg. | Officials fear the number of dead could rise, reports the BBC's Lebo Diseko from Johannesburg. |
Mthuthuzeli Swartz told the BBC that emergency teams were trying to lift the train to see if there was anyone else trapped underneath the wreckage. | |
Passenger Tiaan Esterhuizen told the BBC that he and his family managed to get off the train, and he then tried to help three women trapped in the mangled wreckage. | |
"They were shouting to us: 'Listen, the baby, the baby!' We tried to look for the baby but we couldn't find it. | "They were shouting to us: 'Listen, the baby, the baby!' We tried to look for the baby but we couldn't find it. |
"We broke down the windows to look [for] it. And then... that same truck that they were in... was full of flames. So, they didn't make it." | "We broke down the windows to look [for] it. And then... that same truck that they were in... was full of flames. So, they didn't make it." |
The flames became intense, forcing him and others to retreat, he said. | The flames became intense, forcing him and others to retreat, he said. |
"We used some fire extinguishers the police had‚ but it didn't work‚" Mr Esterhuizen was quoted in local media as saying. | "We used some fire extinguishers the police had‚ but it didn't work‚" Mr Esterhuizen was quoted in local media as saying. |