Durban - What was supposed to be a thrill-seeking goodbye for a fallen friend led to tragedy on Wednesday when an uMlazi teenager was electrocuted while “train surfing” - riding on the roof of a train.
Msizi Nzama, 16, was killed instantly when he made contact with the train’s power cables during the dangerous stunt.
He and a group of about 20 friends were riding on top of a passenger train in honour of a friend who had allegedly also died while train surfing. They were on their way to the funeral of the friend, who died on Saturday at the Kwa-Mnyandu station in uMlazi’s D-section.
Witnesses said other friends, also on their way to his funeral, had performed a stunt known as “staff riding” - as they passed the uMlazi Lutheran Church in H-section.
Staff riding is when a person holds on to the rear bumper of a moving bus or truck and runs with it. The boys allegedly got into a confrontation with police over their behaviour there.
On the train, the friends decided to see who was the best train surfer. They had to run along the top of the train to the front and tag the train number. At the time of the incident, they were down to four.
The other 16 had quit and gone back inside the train.
But as Msizi was heading to the front, the train driver allegedly abruptly applied the brakes, causing the boy to slip and get electrocuted by the overhead contact wire.
His friends fled after the train stopped, according to passengers on the train.
They said there was the smell of something “burning” and they heard a rumbling sound on the roof before the accident happened at about 10am in uMlazi’s N-section.
The teen’s death came just a day after Metrorail had been doing an awareness campaign in uMlazi, warning against both train surfing and staff riding.
On Wednesday the campaign was taken to KwaMashu.
Msizi’s uncle, Dumisani Nzama, who had raised the boy after his mother abandoned him just two months after giving birth, urged parents to warn their children against the dangerous thrill.
Nzama said he thought the teenager had quit train surfing after he had warned him months ago.
“He started train surfing at the beginning of the year. Neighbours told us about his behaviour. His grandmother and I warned him about the dangers of doing this and he stopped; he promised us and he has never done it again until now,” he said.
Nzama said he believed the teen felt an obligation to ride for his friend.
Nzama, who receives a government grant because he suffers from elephantiasis in his right leg, said his nephew had been expelled from his school, Swelihle High, for absenteeism earlier this year. He was in Grade 9.
“To lose a kid like this is terrible. I just hope that other children can learn from this. His friends have seen what has happened to him - I hope they will never do this again. Electricity is dangerous - everyone knows that,” he said.
“Stay away from train surfing and staff riding. I hope parents will sit their kids down and warn them against this. When neighbours tell us these things, we must act and not take sides, the kids must stop this behaviour.”
Nzama said the family did not have money to bury Msizi because his and the grandmother’s only income was from government grants.
In August 2011, another uMlazi teenager, Thubelihle Ndelela, then 13 - lost his arm when he was struck by a contact wire while train surfing.
Metrorail spokeswoman, Thandi Mkhize, said they had records of two incidents of train surfing in uMlazi this year. She could not confirm Saturday’s incident but said it would be investigated.
She said the awareness campaign was aimed at urging commuters to voice their displeasure when the kids climb the coaches.
But Mkhize admitted this was a challenge for Metrorail, and urged parents, the public, community leaders and schools to encourage children to stop this behaviour.
“This is not only Metrorail’s problem: the sad thing is that even though they see their friends die or losing their limbs, they still go back… everybody warns them, but they continue to do this,” she said.
Mkhize said most train surfers were either in primary or high school, and were usually teenagers. She said the trend had become popular in KwaZulu-Natal over the past two years.
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, confirmed Nzama had died while taking part in train surfing.
Daily News