At least one dead, 80 injured in S.Africa train collision

At least one person was killed and several others injured after two commuter trains collided on Tuesday in South Africa’s biggest city Johannesburg, train operator Metrorail and emergency services said.

Both trains were travelling from the capital Pretoria when one hit the other from behind, Metrorail spokeswoman Lillian Mofokeng told Talk Radio 702.

“We just do not know how it happened. We will be investigating that. There is an indication that people have been injured,” she said.

Emergency service provider ER24 said in a statement the driver of one of the trains died on the scene and about 80 other people sustained injuries.

Paramedics were still attending to passengers and the number of injured people could rise, ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring told Reuters.