South Africa: Trains collide, 300 injured.

At least 300 people, including many schoolchildren, were injured after two passenger trains collided near the South African capital, Pretoria.

Medical personnel said that 28 of them were seriously injured.

The scene of the accident - Photo: Mail & Guardian online

Local media reported that the accident occurred around 8:00 AM local time today, January 31st (1:00 PM Vietnam time), after a train traveling from the suburbs to the capital collided with a train that was stopped on the same track. Both trains are operated by Metrorail.

“Both trains were packed with passengers, including many schoolchildren on their way to school,” said Johan Pieterse, an emergency official in Tshwane. “We counted about 50 schoolchildren.”

Pieterse also said that one of the two train drivers is currently in critical condition after being trapped in the wreckage of the train for two hours.

The cause is still unclear, but the BBC quoted the head of South African railways as saying that the signaling cables had been stolen, affecting the signaling system and leading to the accident.

In 2011, a high-speed train crashed into a stationary train near the town of Soweto, South Africa, injuring approximately 800 people.

According to Tuoi Tre - DT