Train smashes into student bus

A TRANSNAMIB freight train smashed into a bus that belongs to the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) in Swakopmund yesterday, pushing it for about 100 metres along the railway line.

As the solo occupant, the bus driver sustained shoulder injuries.

The accident happened just before 07h00 at the rail-road crossing on Newton Street, which leads into the light industrial area. The train was entering the Swakopmund station while the bus was on its way to pick up students for lessons at the NIMT campus at Arandis.

According to eyewitnesses, the train hooted repeatedly before smashing into the bus, hitting it just behind the front end where the driver was seated. Traffic officers who spoke to the bus driver, said he allegedly informed them he did not see or hear the train when he crossed the railway line.

Traffic along Newton Street, during the morning rush hour, was redirected until the accident scene was cleared.

TransNamib has confirmed the accident.

In 2012, a NIMT bus with about 50 students crashed into a low-bed truck about 50km outside Swakopmund, leaving 15 injured, including the bus driver, whose leg had to be amputated.

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