A man was killed when a train ploughed into his car on the railway tracks between the Mitchells Plain and Lentegeur stations on Saturday morning, metro rescue officials said.
Cape Town metro rescue spokesperson Shaheem de Vries said the man, in his early thirties, had been driving a white BMW on a gravel road alongside the track with two other passengers in the car.
The three ”had had a bit to drink” and began to argue when the driver suggested they drive across the railway tracks, said De Vries.
The two passengers — not willing to take the risk — got out of the car but the driver was determined to cross the tracks and went ahead.
As he tried to drive across, the undercarriage of the car became stuck on the tracks and a train ploughed into the car, killing him.
De Vries said it took rescue personnel two-and-a-half hours to remove his body, which was ”badly trapped under the train”.
The two passengers did not sustain any injuries but were shaken up after witnessing the accident.
The railway was reopened once the car’s wreckage was removed from the tracks. — Sapa