One killed in South Africa train crash: report

A train driver died as about 200 people were injured Friday when two passenger trains collided north of the South African capital Pretoria, the Sapa news agency reported.

“Paramedics are tending to the injured, most of whom had clambered from the upended coaches,” said Netcare911 spokesman Jeff Wicks, adding that one man’s body was “trapped in the wreckage of a coach.”

The cause of the rush-hour accident is still under investigation.

“At this stage a total of 200 people suffered injuries and were taken to various hospitals for treatment around Pretoria,” public train operator Metrorail said in a statement.

“One train driver suffered fatal injuries.”

Train accidents are relatively common in South Africa but rarely fatal.

More than two million South Africans, mostly low-income earners, commute on trains every day.

Last year, a luxury train carrying tourists derailed outside Pretoria killing two people.