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The Namibian
Tue 13 Aug 2013

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SMS Of The Day * MINISTRY of Gender and Child Welfare, TEARS are rolling down as I write this SMS. The killing of women in Namibia is now like reciting a poem. Are we really getting the protection we deserve while women not being treated as part of this c
Food For Thought * SO the Zimbabwe elections were free and peaceful and not free and fair?
Bouquets And Brickbats * NURSES at Katutura Hospital must stop wearing those big plastic sandals at work because they are not the official working shoes. We want to see you looking smart and beautiful with your full uniform.
SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam
Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r
Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p
SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha
Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in
Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a
SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for
Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont
Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf

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NEWS - NAMIBIA | 2013-08-05

Train smash at Kranzberg

Adam Hartman

CRASH AND BURN... The two locomotives that collided were FUEL TO FIRE ... The fuel tanker wagon that exploded next burned beyond economic repair.

A TRANSNAMIB goods train travelling from Walvis Bay smashed into another stationary train at Kranzberg railway station between Usakos and Karibib last Thursday night.

No one was injured although the two locomotives were extensively damaged and are a write-off.

In a statement released on Friday, TransNamib confirmed the collision between freight train 2701 and train 2612 which was destined to depart for Walvis Bay.

The freight train was was carrying different commodities among them coal and fuel which, according to the statement, caused a fire when one of the tankers exploded on impact.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the accident was caused due to a train derailment at one of the switches at Kranzberg railway station. The collision ignited fire, and one of the fuel tankers exploded into flames. The fire was swiftly and effectively extinguished by emergency services,” the statement further read.

TransNamib said the two locomotives were burnt “beyond economic repair” while the tanker that exploded was extensively damaged although the rest remained intact.

The railway line at the station was also damaged and the maintenance team has begun repairs to the damaged sections. Rail traffic to and from Walvis Bay was not effected because the accident did not happen on the main railway line.

It is suspected that the rail-link was not adjusted to divert the oncoming train onto another line by-passing the stationary engine.

The noise of the impact could be heard from far especially after one of the fuel tankers exploded when it caught fire, which was fought fiercely by teams from Swakopmund, Karibib and Usakos.

In March this year, two locomotives pulling 35 container wagons loaded with magnesium derailed just east of Arandis Railway station claiming the assistant driver’s life while in December last year TransNamib suffered infrastructural damages and loss of rolling stock estimated at N$65 million when a train (two locomotives and 17 loaded wagons) derailed at the railway crossing at Dune 7.