10/12/2019
TRAIN ACCIDENT KILLS TWO
Two Botswana Railways crew members died in a train accident between Pallaroad and Mahalapye early today. About 400 passengers were safely evacuated.
The BR Express train derailed near Bonwapitse River while enroute from Gaborone to Francistown.
Botswana Railways chief executive officer, Mr Leonard Makwinja, said in an interview that, "there were four crew members in the locomotive. One boarded the train at Pallaroad to render assistance along the way because we were worried about the state of Bonwapitse River. Unfortunately, just after Pallaroad the rail broke and some coaches derailed, but we are not quite sure of what really happened," he added.
Mr Makwinja confirmed that, through the assistance of Botswana Police Service, they managed to evacuate all passengers and accomodated them at a nearby school. However, he said they were not yet sure about the exact number of injuries.
