Passenger train bursts into flames

PASSENGERS had to flee a TransNamib passenger train on Monday night after a carriage caught fire some 17 kilometres outside Keetmanshoop.

The train was bound for Windhoek.
The carriage was completely destroyed by fire but no passengers suffered injuries.
The driver made an emergency stop after the controller reported smoke on the train.
It took the Keetmanshoop Municipality fire brigade close to three hours to extinguish the blaze, which shot about 10 metres into the air when The Namibian arrived at the scene.
TransNamib is still investigating the cause of the fire.
According to a statement issued late yesterday afternoon, the coach that caught fire was being brought to Windhoek for repairs.
The coach was cleared from the track yesterday morning and normal train services resumed, the statement said.
The approximately 80 passengers on the train were transported by bus to Windhoek.
A witness who spoke to The Namibian at the scene said he noticed smoke coming from a battery connected to the carriage’s power-supply box.

BLAMED ON
TRANSNAMIB

One passenger, Karupu Muhongo, said the smoke on the train could be noticed before the train even departed from Keetmanshoop.
He blamed TransNamib for the blaze, saying that the carriage could have been detached before the train left for Windhoek.
Muhongo said a TransNamib electrician inspected the carriage after the smoke was noticed but no fault was detected.
Another passenger, John Stein, also blamed Trans­Namib for the blaze on the train.
‘Smoke was spotted on the passenger carriage while passengers were boarding the train, but instead of replacing the carriage TransNamib preferred not to do so for reasons only known to them,’ he said angrily.
A 13-year-old passenger, Jansen Swartbooi, described the fire on the train as ‘incredible’.
‘It is pure bad passenger service we receive from the railway carrier. I want my money back in return for the bad service,’ Swartbooi said.
Some passengers questioned the safety of trains, citing reports of train derailments in recent months.
‘TransNamib adheres to strict safety standards and all equipment including these coaches are maintained according to such standards,’ the company said in a statement issued yesterday.