AFP
South African authorities are investigating brake failure as the possible cause of the crash of a luxury train, as the death toll rose to three, an official said Thursday.
Fifty-five foreign passengers and 30 staff were on the Rovos Rail train heading from Cape Town to Pretoria when 16 carriages slid down the tracks in a deadly pile-up on Wednesday, as the locomotive was being changed at a station.
"It appears from the initial measurement and assessment that were done that there was not adequate braking left on the train during the coupling and uncoupling process," Rail Safety Regulator spokesman Carvel Webb told Radio 702.
He said the regulator will focus on Rovos's procedures and had already handed a preliminary report to Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele.
The accident happened 50 days before the kick off of the football World Cup, and the minister quickly sought to reassure tourists on railway safety.
"We have been constantly championing safety in all modes of transport," Ndebele said.
"We want to assure passengers, both local and international, that our rail operations are indeed safe. As government, we remain committed to providing safe, efficient and affordable public transport for South Africans and visitors alike," Ndebele said.
Two women died in the crash, including one who was four months pregnant and went into labour. A third woman later died from her injuries in hospital, according to Rovos Rail. All three were working on the train. Five people were reported to be in a critical condition.
Emergency workers had to cut holes into the roofs of the vintage wood-panelled carriages tossed onto their sides.
Webb said it would take about two days to clear the wreckage which meant railway services were suspended between Pretoria and nearby Johannesburg, with commuters being ferried by bus.
The passengers were mainly from the United States, but also included Britons, French and Germans.
The US embassy said 40 American tourists were travelling on the train and four remained in hospital Thursday.
Webb said the investigation was expected to be completed in two weeks.
"We are going to be looking at the whole scenario around this incident and the full report would surface in the next two weeks".
Rovos Rail operates two vintage trains on routes across the continent, billing itself as "the most luxurious train in the world". The company runs a Cape Town to Cairo trip costing 56,000 dollars.
It said the accident was the first involving injuries in the company's history.
Another luxury train, the Blue Train, had a head-on collision in 2005 that injured 16 people in South Africa's Karoo desert.
Africasia
