'It felt like a bomb blast'
2005-10-28 07:20
Charles Smith
De Aar - "It felt like a bomb blast and I thought: Now there is another incident needlessly injuring people," said Deon Scheepers, 36, who survived the Planet Hollywood bombing in Cape Town in 1998.
He once again escaped death - this time in the head-on collision between the Blue Train and the Shosholoza Meyl's Trans Karoo express.
The pain, panic and night-time hysteria after the accident at Deelfontein Station about 40 km south of De Aar, were described by injured passengers and others at the scene of the collision. Scheepers showed shrapnel scars on his legs - reminders of the Planet Hollywood nightmare of August 25 1998 at the V&A Waterfront, which claimed two lives and left 23 injured - while boarding the bus evacuating stricken passengers.
He was slightly injured when the Trans Karoo, which was on its way to Johannesburg, ended up on the same track as the stationary Blue Train and the two locomotives crashed head on at 23:15 on Wednesday. The front sections of the locomotives are a mangled mass of steel and the first coach of the Blue Train mounted the roof of its own locomotive.
The Blue Train had 67 passengers on board, most from Japan. A Japanese couple were admitted to hospital, the man with minor injuries.
Old people, children on board
The driver of the Trans Karoo probably saved dozens of lives when he hit the train's emergency brakes. He dived towards the back of the locomotive to get away from the danger but his hip was still broken.
The two Blue Train drivers barely managed to jump from their engine's cab before the collision.
Altogether 25 people were injured and treated in the Central Karoo Hospital at De Aar, while four were later transferred by helicopter to private hospitals in Bloemfontein and one to a hospital in Cape Town.
"Everything in my compartment was lying on the floor," said Scheepers. "I have a cut on my head and my leg is full of abrasions. I thought of all the people who had been injured again - it's automatic because I was a policeman for so long. I knew there were old people and children on the train who could be injured easily."
Leo Cramford, 54, of Cape Town, chef on the Trans Karoo, survived his second train accident. The first one was a few years ago between Worcester and Wolseley when his neck was injured - an injury worsened by Wednesday night's collision.
"I was locking up the kitchen and dining car when I heard a loud bang. I poked my head outside and saw two trains, one on the other. You should see the kitchen; everything is broken and in a mess. I turned off the gas immediately, [or] there could have been an explosion."
Train travelling at 40-50km/h
Jacques Kotze, 27, of Bellville, told in hospital of the hysteria and panic after the collision. He was in the coach immediately behind the locomotive of the Trans Karoo. His neck and one knee were badly injured but he first assisted his wife.
"There was a tremendous bump. It was pitch dark. Especially the women were hysterical and I struck a match to help my wife to the next coach where the lights were still working. I'd say the train was travelling at 40-50km/h. Had the Blue Train also been moving it would have been a real tragedy."
Kotze was transferred to a Bloemfontein hospital by air ambulance at noon on Thursday.
- Volksblad