The rescue operation in the Kroonstad train crash is expected to resume on Friday morning after it was suspended last night.
The crash has claimed the lives of at least 18 passengers. Free State Emergency Services suspended the operation because of lack of heavy-duty machinery.
The train was travelling from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg when it collided with a truck at a railway crossing. Over 200 people are said to have been injured.
Those who survived were bussed to their final destinations in different parts of Gauteng.
Meanwhile, DNA tests will have to be done to identify the bodies of the deceased passengers.
Transport Minister, Joe Maswanganyi, visited the scene and sent a message of condolence to the families of the deceased. The crash scene was one of carnage with wreckage scattered all over the place. It’s believed that the truck driver thought that he could beat the train at the level crossing.
Survivors share their experiences.
“The accident was caused by the truck driver hooting on the railway line. But unfortunately the back of the truck was still on the railway,” says one survivor.
Another survivor says: “I was sleeping and the couch that I was in was shaking and when I woke up, everyone was crying.”
Maswanganyi says the truck driver must account and commended community members and local business from Hennenman who provided survivors with food and water.
