[EYEWITNESS] ‘Re-Mark-able’ paramedic who witnessed train accident
"All four people were flung out of the vehicle and were lying next to the track."
Mark Jansen van Rensburg, a locomotive paramedic on a train en route to Magaliesburg, was admiring the outside view when he saw a vehicle about to cross the railway tracks.
On Saturday, 26 August, the steam train he was travelling on collided with a vehicle in Tarlton. The train was on its way from Johannesburg to Sleepy River in Magaliesburg.
“It was such a lovely day,” he said. “The steam train was tooting and it seemed so majestic that I decided to take a video.”
Little did he know he would film a horrific collision. He was in the first of 10 carriages, hanging out of the window and taking a video when he saw a vehicle crossing the tracks.
Read the initial article here: [WATCH] Four injured after train and vehicle collide
“The vehicle made it just in time. But then out of nowhere a second vehicle rushed onto the tracks, in front of the train. The train hit it side-on and pieces of wreckage came flying past my window. I ducked inside because the vehicle shards came right past me.”
He said the train operator stopped the train and he jumped off and ran to the car.
“All four people were flung out of the vehicle and were lying next to the track. Two other paramedics were with me and we did an assessment to establish who was injured.”
He said two of the vehicle’s occupants — the driver and front seat passenger — had no injuries and were sitting next to the track. There were two other patients, one of which had serious injuries and had to be airlifted.
“I’m on a few paramedic groups on WhatsApp and sent a distress message to them for assistance.”
Paramedics from various emergency services arrived soon after. The ER24 helicopter also landed on a soccer field nearby and airlifted the severely injured woman.
Remarkably, not one of the 444 passengers on the train was injured. Witnesses on the train said they didn’t even feel the impact.
“There was no bump or sound,” said Annerie Myburg, one of the passengers in the tenth carriage.
“Because trains often stop on their journey for various reasons, we didn’t think much of it. But the conductor announced that the train had hit a car. I couldn’t believe we were in an accident and we didn’t even see or feel anything.”
Read more: WARNING: Graphic images — Boy dies on his way to fetch school report
Because the passengers on the train still had to make it to Magaliesburg, buses were sent to the railway line and passengers reached their destination despite the incident.
Van Rensburg, who has been a paramedic for more than 15 years, said if the vehicle had been travelling just one second faster, it would have landed directly underneath the train, causing it to derail and seriously injuring the passengers.
“Luckily this wasn’t the case. The train didn’t even have a scratch on it. I mean, it’s made of the strongest metal.”
Police were on scene to investigate the incident.
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