Johannesburg -
Eight people received medical treatment after a train derailed in Soweto on Tuesday, but there were conflicting reports about what had happened to them.
While Johannesburg emergency services said they were treated for injuries sustained when they jumped from the train, Metrorail said they were treated for shock.
The train derailed between the New Canada and Crown Mines railway stations on Tuesday afternoon.
Johannesburg emergency services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said the eight passengers jumped off the train when they saw smoke and thought it was on fire.
He said one person was critically injured and seven sustained minor knee injuries. They were treated at the scene before being taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
However, Metrorail provincial manager Thembela Khulu said no one had jumped from the train and that the passengers had been “treated for shock”.
“... There are no physical injuries,” she said.
Khulu said the smoke seen by passengers was from a grass-fire alongside the railway tracks.
She said the cause of the derailment was not yet known. “We don't know at the present moment. Technicians are on the site as we speak. It is not something major.” - Sapa