Two crowded commuter trains crashed head-on in Harare on Wednesday, injuring at least 70 people, three of them seriously, witnesses and railroad officials said.
Witnesses saw crewmen jump from the trains before impact at the Zimbabwean capital’s main station. Passenger cars rolled on to their sides.
There were no reports of deaths.
Deputy Transport Minister Andrew Langa said a traffic controller ”misdirected” the trains on to the same section of track, state radio reported.
Officials at the scene said the trains were pulling into the station and normally would have been switched to separate platforms.
Ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals during the morning rush hour.
Rail accidents, blamed mostly on faulty and outdated equipment, are common in Zimbabwe.
Last year, 50 people died in western Zimbabwe when two trains collided after a signals failure.
Commuter trains using the one main track through Harare were introduced in 2002 to ease commuters’ woes during acute shortages of gasoline that have persisted. — Sapa-AP