Cape Town - In the aftermath of Tuesday’s train derailment in Paarl, only blue gloves and masks and commuters’ clothing items were left near the wreckage, serving as reminders of the accident.
About 600 metres from Dal Josafat station the passenger train’s locomotive left the tracks and left 25 passengers injured.
Witnesses said they heard an unusual, loud sound from the train. They could hear there was trouble.
Andrew Martlow said: "I was watching TV inside when I heard the peculiar sound and jumped out and went to see what happened. When I went out three carriages had already been flung metres away from the other part of the train.
"Some passengers had started jumping out of the stationary train. They were in a state of shock. They were helping each other to get off the train. We realised that there were people who were trapped inside the three carriages."
His son Ulrich went to the rescue the commuters.
"He took a scissor jack and used it to free a person whose thigh was stuck between metal pieces. There were three people who were trapped. It was a real tragedy to see this thing. If the train was speeding there would have been much more damage."
The Passenger Rail Agency of SA’s (Prasa’s) acting regional manager, Raymond Maseko, said 14 passengers had been discharged from hospital.
“The train was en route to Wellington from Cape Town and carrying about 300 to 400 commuters, and 25 of them were seriously injured,” Maseko said.
“They were taken to Paarl Mediclinic, Paarl General Hospital and Stellenbosch Mediclinic.
"The train would have to stop on platform two. The first three coaches were on the correct route while the eight others were pulling to another track and it hit whatever was in its way.
"We went to the cabin at the station to see which track was selected for the train.
“We also need to recover and investigate the incident."
The eight carriages were taken to the Salt River depot.
Portfolio committee on transport chairperson Donald Selamolela was also at the scene yesterday. Video: Mandilakhe Tshwete / Independent Newspapers.
Maseko said it was the worst derailment he had experienced in his career.
"An ordinarily derailment ends in the order of 200 or 300 metres.
“In the nature where it happened, you’d find the coaches lying in the same direction. That indicates that, in our thinking, what the passengers would have experienced is a bumpy ride.
“This is not a train that experienced a bumpy ride. It’s on its side and it proceeded on it.
“The following coaches were on its sleepers and the passengers were listening to a sound every single time it hit something. I’m certain it was a traumatic experience."
Prasa Group CEO Hishaam Emeran said the accident was regrettable.
"I've come to the site to see first hand what happened. The team briefed me on what happened.
"A report was sent to our sister company, Transnet, who will now start embarking on the necessary investigations."
Prasa Group CEO Hishaam Emeran was also at the site for a briefing from his team. Video: Mandilakhe Tshwete / Independent Newspapers.
Emeran said he would visit the remaining injured passengers in hospital.
"We want to confirm with them that they have our support. This is not something that we like to see within our environment.
“There is counselling that we will offer, and make sure that in the next coming days, we deal with the matters around insurance and dealing with the claims related to these incidents.
“We are also busy with assessing the damage. This investigation and the assessment will be communicated and also when the line will reopen."
Emeran said while the repairs continued, trains would stop at Kraaifontein station.
Portfolio committee on transport chairperson Donald Selamolela was also at the scene yesterday. He was worried that commuters would be forced to dig deep in their pockets while the service was suspended.
“We have seen the extent of the damage not only to the train but also rail and I think that it is very sad that this happened,” Selamolela said.
“What is important is that it will take time to recover the rails and to get that particular type of the train fixed. What is our greatest worry as the public representatives is that for a particular time our people will not be able to commute on this space.
“When we interfaced with people they indicated the line is assisting them economically and since the recovery of the system this side has been able to see the benefit of it in household expenditures.”
@dailyvoice_news Twenty-five passengers were injured when two Metrorail coaches derailed near Paarl in the Western Cape on Tuesday. Assessing the situation, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) acting regional manager Raymond Maseko reports: "The train was en route to Wellington from Cape Town and carrying about 300 to 400 commuters, 25 of them were seriously injured and 5 of them were classified as seriously injured. “They were taken to Paarl Medi Clinic, Paarl General Hospital and Stellenbosch Medi Clinic.“ He says the train was supposed to pull into Platform 2 and while the first three coaches were on the correct track, the eight others were pulling to another track and hit something. Video: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers. #Prasa #accidents #westerncapesouthafrica🇿🇦 ♬ original sound - Daily Voice
Raymond Maseko explains how the train was derailed near Dal Josafat station on Monday. Video: Mandilakhe Tshwete / Independent Newspapers.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za