29 hurt as train crashes in CT

2003-10-24 11:59

Cape Town - Twenty-eight commuters and the driver were injured when a train overshot Platform 8 at Cape Town station on Friday.

The accident happened when the train carrying commuters from Wellington overshot the platform shortly after 08:00.

Riana Jacobs of Metrorail said most of the commuters, including the driver, were being treated for slight to very slight injuries at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town.

She said 14 of the injured were able to walk unaided while six others with slight injuries were taken away on stretchers. The others were treated for shock.

She said the company had set up a trauma centre with counselling services and staff on hand to help with enquiries at the station.

Platforms 7 to 9 and the station concourse had been temporarily closed to the public in order to help investigators and crews involved in clean-up operations.

Metrorail expresses sympathy with injured

Jacobs said most trains were operating normally. Trains using platforms 7 and 9 had been rerouted to other platforms.

A toll-free call centre had been set up for commuters needing updates on the status of the service.

Metrorail expressed its sympathy to the injured and those affected by the accident.

Western Cape health MEC Piet Meyer was on the scene minutes after the accident.

"I needed to know the extent of the accident and if our medical emergency services were coping. Luckily, the accident was not one of disastrous proportions and the injured are being treated," said Meyer.

Early reports said it appeared the train's brakes had failed, but this could not be confirmed.

Local government MEC Cobus Dowry said the metropolitan disaster management centre was in contact with the city's disaster management team at the station where activities had been co-ordinated.

A commuter from Bonteheuwel, Faizel Faried, who was in one of the rear carriages, said there was a loud noise as the train smashed into a wall at the end of the tracks and many people fell forward.

Metrorail's responsibility

All entrances to the station were sealed off with steel doors and no one was allowed on the station.

The only people on the station were commuters entering Cape Town.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the newly inaugurated board of the Railway Safety Regulator, said one of the body's functions would be to conduct investigations or appoint somebody to investigate train accidents.

"The approach is not to try and apportion blame, but to enhance safety prospects in the rail industry," said chairman Sipho Madonsela.

He said that the responsibility of implementing recommendations ultimately rested with operators, such as Metrorail.

"We will just oversee and monitor the process."

National Metrorail spokesperson Tshidiso Moshao did not want to comment but said the company was preparing a statement.

- SAPA