2 people were shaken and hundreds were spared after a train derailed near Orkney today. Details of why the goods train derailed will remain a subject for investigators.
When Netcare 911 paramedics and emergency services arrived on scene they found that the goods train with a load of mealies had derailed . The contents and the crumpled remains of the train littered several meters down the railway lines. The locomotives left the rails, miraculously they stayed on their wheels and came to rest several meters down the line.
The driver and assistant escaped the ordeal visibly shocked but fortunately without injury. When the terrain was examined by emergency personnel they found just how fortunate the residents of an informal settlement was. If the accident happened a hundred meters down the line it would have destroyed several houses and people.
It is also reported that the Trans- Karoo train was stationary at the next siding waiting for the goods train to pass. A quote from paramedic Chris Wiggett on scene “how lucky can we be “ has never been more true.
Chris Botha
Netcare 911
