Pretoria - Residents of Soshanguve were greeted by the horrifying news of the death of four people on Friday morning – three in an apparent suicide – murder on the railway tracks, and a fourth, who was found in a nearby river. The incidents happened near Kopanong and Akasia.
An unidentified woman and her two children were killed by a speeding rush-hour train in a suspected double murder-suicide.
Bystanders said the woman stood on the tracks with her children, firmly clutching their hands, just after 6am. They remained there even when the driver of the train, which was heading from Pretoria, sounded the horn.
Moments later, bystanders flowed onto the railway. Some sobbed hysterically, while others took pictures with their cellphones.
Police spokesman Captain Riana van Aarde said the three had not been identified. The children were believed to be aged between four and seven. “A case has been opened, and we urge community members to come forth with any information,” said Van Aarde.
A resident who was at the scene described the incident as horrifying. “It was horrendous. Their limbs were torn off from their bodies, and the tracks resembled a bloodbath.”
Another resident of Extension 6 said the train tracks between Akasia and Kopanong were dangerous. “Most of the shops are in Block XX, so people have to always cross the tracks to get there. Government should build a bridge for us in order to curb the death toll around this place,” he said, seemingly unaware of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa spokeswoman, Lillian Mofokeng, said they condemned such acts of suicide in their operational areas. “These acts are a serious challenge to our business and affect both our ability to run operations because the service has to be put on halt to allow police, and our internal investigation processes to clear the scene. These affect all other scheduled trains.
“It affects the well-being of our drivers, guards and security personnel who witness and manage the scenes. Our staff get traumatised and have to be put off-duty for debriefing and counselling,” said Mofokeng.
This was the second tragedy involving trains in over a month. In May, a woman from Mabopane and her three children were killed when she tied them to herself and jumped in front of an oncoming train.
“As part of our modernisation programme, a joint effort with municipalities is being put in place to address illegal crossing of rail reserves. Ongoing security patrols are done to monitor high-risk areas,” said Mofokeng.
An hour after the murder-suicide, and barely 50m away, a lifeless body of a man was found floating in a river near the train station.
Van Aarde said the cause of death had not been determined. “It is unclear whether this death is foul play. We will hopefully know after the autopsy.”
Locals said the man had been mentally unstable and complained about being possessed by evil spirits. He apparently went missing the night before, after he had ran out from his aunt’s home. Family members searched for him throughout the night, but could not find him.
Pretoria News