Train crash driver sober

THE Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) said preliminary findings into last week’s collision between a train and a truck which killed 19 people showed the truck driver had tested negative for alcohol.

The RSR said the train was travelling well below the section speed at 78km/h at the time of the accident.

About 260 passengers, crew and staff were injured when the train, carrying 599 people, collided with the trailer of a truck between Henneman and Kroonstad in the Free State on January 4.

The rail regulator said its preliminary investigation was conducted by RSR investigators, who inspected the scene and obtained information about factors which could have contributed to the accident.

It said issues to be further probed included the appropriateness of the line of sight for both the truck and train drivers, the cause of fire to five coaches and the appropriateness of fire mitigation measures.

“An independent board of inquiry into the circumstances that led to this collision is being established in order to obtain detailed information,” the RSR said. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) yesterday said the identification of bodies those who died in a train crash in the Free State continues in Kroonstad.

On Monday, Prasa said 15 people were still unaccounted for.

Prasa spokesperson Nana Zenani said: “Prasa will only release details when everything is confirmed; we cannot say much for now, but we will release a statement when everything is done.”

Some of the bodies were badly burnt and others dismembered in the smash. – African News Agency/ ANA