Rovos Rail luxury train, en route from Pretoria to Victoria Falls with foreign tourists for the Easter weekend, collided with a freight train in Zimbabwe on Friday, resulting in the derailment of carriages and injuries to several people, according to the operating company and a local railway worker.
While Rovos Rail spokeswoman Liezl Maclean stated that four crew members were injured and some guests were under observation but not known to be hurt, a local rail employee reported a total of 18 injuries, with 14 admitted to Gwanda Provincial Hospital and four to Mater Dei in Bulawayo.
The breakdown of injured passengers versus crew, and whether any from the freight train were hurt, was not immediately clear.
Social media images depicted rescue efforts at the scene in Gwanda, southern Zimbabwe, showing a person being carried on a stretcher from the damaged train. The collision involved the Rovos Rail train and a Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway freight train.
At the time of the accident, at least 47 tourists were aboard the Rovos Rail service. The cause of the collision is currently unknown.
Rovos Rail, established in 1989, offers high-end train safaris across Africa, including the popular three- or four-night journey from Pretoria to Bulawayo, a key stop on the way to Victoria Falls.
This may be the second accident of its type in 15 years as I recall there being a derailment earlier this decade where the coaches got away form the locomotives running and derailing. At that time they were suing electric locomotives.