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Johannesburg – A man living next to the Denver train station, Johannesburg, has described how he heard two trains colliding, killing one woman and injuring hundreds on Tuesday morning.
Thulani Phakatse, 28, said he ran to the trains when he heard the collision.
“I heard the white train [Business Express] hooting and then there was a loud bang. I ran to the trains and helped some people come out. Some of them were crying. The driver of the white train was also crying. She was saying she was hungry.”
He said the woman was pinned into the wreckage at her waist. He got a scratch on his arm from helping people get out of the wreckage.
A Metrorail safety officer was killed and about 240 people injured when the Business Express with about 200 people on board slammed into the back of a Metro Plus train with 700 people at the station around 7:00. The safety officer had been at the back of the Metro Plus train.
The injured driver was airlifted to hospital.
Phakatse hurt himself on the arm after helping people get out of the wreckage. (Ahmed Areff, News24)
