Durban - Eleven people sustained minor to moderate injuries when a train collided with a truck trailer in Moseley Park in Pinetown on Friday.
It is believed that the truck driver was passing over the level crossing of the railway line when the trailer became entangled in the overhead electrical cables.
On impact, eight train passengers and the two train drivers were injured, as well one other person at the site of the accident.
Head of communications for Prasa, Zama Nomnganga said, “By the grace of God there were no fatalities.”
Nomnganga said that the maximum height for vehicles passing under the overhead traction cables was 4.5m.
“I don’t know if the truck driver wasn't sure of the height of the truck, but the trailer got hooked to the overhead traction cable. By that time, however, the train was approaching,” he said.
Mohamed Khan of Bakers Transport, the company the truck belonged to, disputed that his driver did not know the maximum height allowed. Khan said: “Every Bakers Transport vehicle is under 4.3m in height.”
A team from Bakers measured the truck and trailer on site, said Khan, and found it to be 4.3m in height.
Garrith Jamieson, spokesman for Rescue Care, said: “Paramedics found that two train drivers as well as nine passengers had sustained various injuries and were taken to hospital.
Independent on Saturday