A SECTION where 13 passengers, including tourists and crew members, were injured in a train accident on Friday, is a dark spot according to locals.
No official explanation on the cause of the accident has been made.
The Independence Day accident between the multi-million tourist Rovos Train and a privately owned Grindrod goods train occurred six kilometres away from the city centre near the abandoned Hantinya Mine area.
Senior government officials, including the Tourism minister Barbara Rwodzi have been on site to cheer up the injured and gather details.
On site, however, the railway leading from Gwanda to Beitbridge was still blocked with workers from both National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and Grindrod still trying to separate the two lead locomotives that crashed head-on.
Some mangled wagons of the Rovos luxury safari train were still attached to the engine of their train.
A crane from NRZ has been on site since the accident occurred.
“A lot of money has been poured into the rescue operation and more will be used in fuel costs, man-hours, equipment and accessories,” said a worker who asked for anonymity.
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“We managed to remove the goods carriages and part of the tourist train, but we still need to clear for train passage.”
Crane hire rates in Zimbabwe range from US$60 to US$120 per hour, depending on load weight, crane size, distance, period on site, company pricing policy.
According to locals, the accident site near a disused mine, believed to have trapped
several workers years ago, is a black spot.
“Some people died in that mine and we believe this area is cursed. The Hantinya Mine carved at a deep level, burying some miners inside. Several accidents occur here,” said Tare Mbedzi of Gwanda.
Soon after the accident, a Honda Fit vehicle veered off the road and crashed on a steep section of the road.
A few years ago, a helicopter crashed on a nearby hill, killing its lone occupant.
