/ 22 May 2006

Four more people thrown off Gauteng trains

Four people were seriously injured after being thrown off moving trains on Monday morning, Metrorail said.

Three of them were thrown off a train between Driehoek and Geldenhuis train stations on the East Rand at 11am, said spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni.

This happened minutes after another man was critically injured in a similar incident that happened at the Jeppe train station.

They were taken to local hospitals, where one of them was reported to be in a critical condition.

A number of people have been thrown from moving trains in Gauteng in recent weeks — many of them working security guards believed to be targeted by their striking colleagues.

”We do not know if all these incidents are linked to the security guards’ strike, but whoever they are, Metrorail sees them as criminals,” said Mlangeni.

In an effort to stop violence in trains, metro rail and the South African Police Service stopped and searched trains around Gauteng last week, arresting 400 people.

Police were also deployed in areas identified as dangerous.

”Our efforts are being undermined and our image dragged in the mud by these criminals,” Mlangeni said.

No arrests have been made. — Sapa