Two killed, dozens injured in South Africa train derail

JOHANNESBURG - Two passengers were killed and dozens injured after a luxury train derailed in South Africa’s capital Pretoria, emergency services said Wednesday.

One of the two victims was a pregnant woman.

Five others were listed in critical condition after the Rovos Rail train, which had 55 passengers on board and started its journey in Cape Town, derailed in a station in Pretoria, its destination, an emergency services spokesman told SAPA news agency.

Nine more passengers sustained serious injuries and 35 sustained minor injuries. The injured were being treated in a hospital in Pretoria.

Emergency workers spoke of an horrific crash scene, in which all the train’s coaches derailed, some landing on top of each other.

“They had to cut holes in the roofs to get the passengers out,” a spokesman for another emergency services company told SAPA.

Rovos Rail, which describes itself as the world’s most luxurious rail company, has two classic trains that run between Cape Town, Pretoria and Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border and are popular with tourists.

The cause of the accident was unknown.

David Patrick, Rovos’s marketing manager, said the company would be carrying out an investigation into the accident, which he said took place between 11:30 and noon local time.