The family of two of the men killed in a collision between a bakkie and a train at the Blackheath level crossing in Cape Town on Friday morning, say they are devastated.
Seven men died in the collision.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation, but Metrorail has indicated that the cause was human error as the driver of the bakkie ignored boom signals.
One of the family members, Shaheed Paison, says they are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
“The situation is very bad. It’s disturbing and everyone’s spirit is low. Even the father… he can’t even stand on his own. He’s low and he’s like someone who is disturbed. I don’t really know what has transpired, but this is a very bad spot. There are bushes around here. Other people are saying the booms were not working. We don’t understand. We can’t point fingers right now.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance Ward councillor for the Blackheath area, Roelof Maré, says the community is angry that the crossing has yet again claimed more lives.
Maré says they have been appealing to authorities since a similar incident in 2010 for proper safety measures to be implemented at the crossing.
“My question is, how many lives will still be lost before Prasa and Metrorail decide to take the city council’s hand to make this a safer level crossing by installing proper safety measures so that this whole crossing can be eliminated.”
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