Off the wire
U.S. dollar drops against most major currencies  • Trump demands publisher stop release of book quoting ex-aide Bannon  • Ethiopia working to repatriate citizens stranded in Libya: official  • Roundup: Africans urged to fight corruption in line with AU agenda  • Spotlight: Erdogan to meet France's Macron for thawing Turkey-EU ties  • Libya's electoral body says 1.9 mln voters registered so far  • 5.1-magnitude earthquake shakes northeast Montenegro  • UN mission in Central African Republic condemns violence  • Ukraine metallurgy plunges into recession due to Donbas crisis  • U.S. jobless claims inch up last week  
You are here:  

18 killed, 239 injured in South Africa passenger train crash

Xinhua,January 05, 2018 Adjust font size:

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A passenger train slammed into a truck in South Africa's Free State province on Thursday, killing 18 people and injuring 239 others.

The Emergency Services confirmed that the Shosholoza Meyl Train 37012 was traveling from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg, when it hit a truck at Jeneva level crossing between Henneman and Kroonstad in Free State province.

Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi said the derailment left 18 people burned to death and 239 injured.

Firefighters and medical personnel have rushed to the scene to help the victims.

Footages sent by passengers from the scene shows a number of carriages laid on the ground and engulfed in flames. Enditem