A train operator and his assistant were killed when a passenger train collided with a tipper truck in Berlin on Friday.
The driver of the truck was rushed to hospital but authorities could not say whether he had minor or serious injuries.
The two train operators could not be named at time of writing on Friday as their next of kin had not been notified of their deaths.
The train travelled about 50 metres after impact before coming to a standstill in front of the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) Berlin dumpsite just after midday.
About 100 passengers were on board at the time and according to Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) three commuters sustained minor injuries.
When the Daily Dispatch arrived at the crash site in the afternoon, there were no passengers around.
While an investigation into what caused the accident is ongoing, authorities believe the inclement weather conditions could have played a part. There was mist, which meant there was poor visibility.
The accident happened when the tipper truck allegedly failed to stop at a railway crossing at the entrance of the dumpsite, colliding with the train. The train was coming from the Berlin direction going towards Mdantsane.
The truck driver was taken to hospital while emergency officials attempted to extricate the bodies of the train operators.The accident occurred before 1pm, however when a Daily Dispatch team left the scene three hours later, the bodies of the train operators had not yet been removed by the pathologists.There were initial suggestions that the truck belonged to BCM, but metro spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said: “I have confirmed that it was not one of our trucks. The only thing that links us is that it was working on our site, but we are not sure whether it belonged to a private company or an individual.”When the Dispatch team arrived at the scene, officials from the municipality’s disaster management team, SA Police Services, traffic and Prasa officials were busy inspecting and securing the scene.Police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said they were investigating a case of culpable homicide.“It is alleged that the train was travelling from Berlin to EL. A truck that was from [the] dumping site crossed the railway line without stopping and two train drivers, [were] certified dead on the scene.“The truck driver was taken to hospital by ambulance,” he said.Provincial health spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha confirmed the department’s emergency services promptly arrived at the accident and transported the truck driver to a local hospital.Eyewitnesses, who were a few metres from the point of impact when the accident occurred, said they ran for their lives when they saw that it was inevitable that the train would collide with the truck.“There was fog at the time of the accident and a bit of rain and we were keeping warm by burning some wood here by the road,” one said.Upon receiving the news of the accident, the chairperson of the board of Prasa, Khanyisile Kweyama, said; “Another accident in our rail environment is regrettable, let alone when it claims the lives of innocent people. The sad passing of our train driver and his assistant is very tragic and our deepest condolences go to their families. The safety of our commuters and employees is taken very seriously and remains our number one priority.”Spokesperson for the Railway Safety Regulator of South Africa, Madelein Williams, said they had sent inspectors to the scene to probe what could have been the cause of the accident.“The inspectors, once done with their probe, will compile a report of whatever they found on the scene,” she said.Prasa group CEO, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, said this accident happens at the time when Prasa is engaged with both the Rail Safety Regulator and Transnet Freight Rail to rollout rail safety awareness campaigns around the country together with the national broadcaster SABC.The acting CEO of Prasa Rail, Dries van der Walt said the line between Fort Jackson to Berlin is closed and commuters are transported by buses between Fort Jackson and Berlin.  He thanked Buffalo City Emergency Services, police, medical teams, Transnet technical team, employees and commuters for their support and understanding during this difficult time.The cost of accident is still unknown at this stage, and a board of inquiry will be established to investigate the cause of the accident.
In a separate accident, six taxi passengers had to be rushed to Grey Hospital in King William’s Town on Friday afternoon after they were injured in a collision on the R63 road between Dimbaza and KWT.
 In another accident, two drivers had to be rushed to Nompumelelo Hospital in Peddie on Friday morning after they were critically injured when their cars collided head-on.
Meanwhile, provincial transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said three vehicles were severely damaged on Thursday evening after their drivers lost control and crashed on the R56 road between Matatiele and Kokstad. There were no fatalities or serious injuries.