Train cut truck full of people in half

2012-07-13 14:44

Emergency personnel attend to the scene of the gruesome accident in Mpumalanga. (ER24)

Johannesburg - A coal train that ploughed into a truck packed with farm workers at a level crossing in Mpumalanga chopped the truck in half, killing at least 19 people who were on their way to pick fruit, police and emergency services said.

Police spokesperson Joseph Mabusa said it appeared the truck driver had miscalculated when crossing the track, leaving his vehicle directly in the path of a freight train carrying coal to neighbouring Mozambique.

"It is a very gruesome scene. Some bodies are without heads and some without limbs. Forensic teams are still working on the scene," he said.

The impact carried the truck 200 metres down the track, dismembering its occupants and making it hard for forensic experts to say exactly how many people had been killed, he added.

Netcare911 spokesperson Jeff Wicks said paramedics found the injured lying amongst the dead.

"The driver was taken to hospital. His condition is unknown," Mabusa said. Police are investigating and might lay culpable homicide charges.

At least 24 others were injured, some of them critically, in the accident near the town of Hectorspruit.

State rail operator Transnet said the train was carrying coal for export to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, but that there was no derailment.

"The truck was carrying 44 passengers ... and the police on the scene have confirmed that 19 people were fatally injured," it said in a statement.

- Reuters