'I will travel by train again'

2005-10-28 09:22

Edna Isaacs

Cape Town - "The Lord was protecting us, praise be to him, because it could so easily have been a bloodbath," said Hester Pritchard, 69, of Elsies River, on Thursday.

She was one of the passengers on the Shosholoza Meyl.

Her husband, Frans, 65, injured his back during the accident. He was still in severe pain but was relieved and thankful to be back in Cape Town.

The couple returned to Cape Town in the Red Cross Air Mercy helicopter on Thursday afternoon.

He was taken to N1 City Hospital for treatment.

"Everybody was asleep when I suddenly heard a loud crash. I knew something was wrong. I banged my head during the collision. I was still on the bunk but my husband was lying on his back on the floor. His vertebrae were injured," she said.

'We should be thankful'

She said other passengers congregated in the corridor to see who needed help. "Everybody was very helpful and helped me return him to the bunk. He was in pain and couldn't walk."

She spent the rest of Thursday night next to her husband's hospital bed.

"I will travel by train again. We travel to Pretoria every year. It's the first time something like this happened but considering the disasters that hit other countries, we should be thankful."

She said she had informed her children about the accident only on Thursday morning because she wanted them to have a good night's rest.

- Die Burger