By Surihe Gaomas and Chrispin Inambao
WINDHOEK
TransNamib’s worst ever train accident on Tuesday night cost the life of a locomotive driver, Sydney Bessel Coetzee, while his assistant, George Sankandi, is battling for his life after he suffered broken ribs and multiple head injuries.
The accident, which claimed Coetzee’s life, occurred some 15 km south of Windhoek west of the main road to Rehoboth where the train overturned spilling the bulk of its 500-tonne ballast bound for Windhoek for railway maintenance, from the settlement of Aries.
The accident involving a diesel engine and eight wagons heavily laden with ballast occurred around 22:00 on Tuesday in the vicinity of Heroes’ Acre.
The sole survivor sustained multiple skull fractures, a shattered collarbone and serious internal injuries according to TransNamib and other sources.
Sankandi, a resident of Khomasdal, is on life-support in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the church-run Roman Catholic Hospital, where by yesterday one senior diplomat, two clergymen who offered a prayer and sombre-looking relatives had visited him.
Though nurses and doctors managed to stabilise him, his condition seemed to be complicated by the mere fact that he is diabetic. He also suffers from high blood pressure.
When New Era visited the accident scene, the rails on the spot of the accident were out of line while several of the wagons were askew with their contents scattered on the ground.
The diesel-powered engine, like several freight wagons, was completely derailed and it was sandwiched between several overturned wagons while a piece of ground was soaked with diesel that had gushed from the locomotive seemingly at the time of the derailment.
Also at the scene of the accident was a wide assortment of debris comprising of metal fragments, shattered springs severed from the train wagons and other metal pieces.
Investigators dispatched by TransNamib cordoned off the area while trying to retrieve a black box, akin to the one fitted on planes, that would aid them with crucial data such as the speed at which the runaway train was travelling.
Once the data in the black box is deciphered, investigators would also be in a position to know if the accident was due to human error or whether it was mechanical in nature thus unavoidable and beyond the control of the train’s crew, an investigator told New Era.
The late Coetzee started working at Transnamib in 1993 as a shunter (someone who couples and uncouples train wagons).
He was later promoted to the position of an engine driver.
At the time of the crash, the train was transporting ballast from Aries to Windhoek used for the maintenance of railway tracks, said Inspector of Train Operations, Gideon Eiseb.
“This train was coming from the south to Windhoek when the accident happened.
“It was carrying eight wagons of ballast and we suspect something might have gone wrong with the breaking system,” speculated Eiseb.
Experts on the scene described the derailment as the worst ever, since it has claimed the life of the driver and seriously injured his assistant. The two were the sole occupants.
“As you can see, this is a very old locomotive of close to 40 years bought from America. Here you see this part of railway line has also shifted because of the derailment.
“We really cannot say what caused the accident because it could be technical or a personal factor, but the black box will determine that,” explained a safety inspector, while cordoning off the area from a group of curious motorists who chanced on the scene.
General Manager of Operations, Jack Dempsy, said some of the trains using that route had to be delayed for 24-hours before the rail lines could be opened for train traffic.
“Two trains from the south were stopped at Aries and we conveyed them by bus to Windhoek.
“But we are busy clearing up the track for more oncoming trains from the south, while normal investigations into the actual cause of the accident are underway,” said Dempsy.
Technicians were clearing the affected railway line for other trains to pass by six o’clock yesterday evening while the damaged locomotive and wagons would be removed using a bull-dozer over the weekend.
This is not the first time that TransNamib has experienced a derailment. Early last year, a train was washed away due to heavy rains and again on two occasions in 2005.
It is also the first time in 30 years that a crewmember has been killed in a train accident.
The last fatality occurred in the 1980s when a passenger train rammed into a military train near Keetmanshoop.