INLSA

Aziz Hartley

NO one has yet identified or reported missing a mother and her two children killed on railway lines at Eerste River station in a suspected murder-suicide early yesterday.

“We just pray someone will come forward,” said Kleinvlei police spokeswoman Annacletta Mothoalo.

Police have asked social workers in Eerste River and surrounds to trace relatives of the mother who stepped in front of a moving train with her two children, killing them all.

Mothoalo said one of the children was a girl of about three and another a baby about four weeks. “We don’t know if the baby was a girl or a boy but the baby had curly hair. We have not been able to identify the woman.

“Last week a social worker reported about a woman who said she wanted to commit suicide because of marital problems. We checked the address, but it was not her.

“We’ve asked social workers to go through their areas and check on people who may know the woman or the family.”

She said the driver of the Northern Express, heading for Strand, was treated for shock and was offered counselling.

Penhill resident Mariam Seboa said she saw bodies covered with blankets near a footbridge as she made her way to Eerste River train station.

“There were several police vans and crime scene investigators. The woman’s body was about 50m from the footbridge. I think she had a baby tied to her with a towel because the towel was seen under the train.

“When I got onto my train I was too scared to look out of the window as the train passed.”

In another incident, Sapa reports a woman was killed but her two-year-old baby “miraculously escaped with no injuries” when a train hit them in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg yesterday.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said police were investigating how the woman landed in front of the train. The baby was taken to a place of safety.

aziz.hartley@inl.co.za