OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Saturday
SEVEN people, including two children, were crushed to death when commuters stampeded at Johannesburg’s Park Station – allegedly following a confrontation between passengers and security guards, who closed the entrance gates to the platform.
Spoornet representative Bintu Petsana said nine others were injured in the incident, which happened just after 7pm on Friday.
The cause of the stampede was still unclear by 11pm, but commuters apparently rushed down stairs towards a main line passenger train bound for Mafikeng in the North West.
Petsana said three women, two men and the two children – a boy and a girl – died on the stairs leading down to platforms 13 and 14.
She said Spoornet would thoroughly investigate the incident and would fully co-operate with the police.
Police official Willem de Villiers said one version of events was that the security at the bottom of the entrance to the platform locked the gate. A sign above the entrance informed commuters that the gates would be locked 10 minutes prior the train’s departure.
“Some people pushed up and some pushed down, and seven died.”
In July 1996, 15 people were trampled to death and 88 were injured during a stampede at the Tembisa station on the East Rand.
The commuters were fleeing from security guards who used electric prodders to control the crowd while checking tickets.
Friday’s stampede was also the second major incident to beset a Gauteng train station in a little over two weeks.
On February 19, rampaging commuters set fire to the Pretoria station building, gutting the top floor.
In that instance the commuters were protesting against poor service and train delays.
Six people have appeared in court in connection with the blaze, which damaged property worth R30m