Authorities accused of downplaying train accident death toll

By Violet Gonda
7 September 2006

Villagers and witnesses close to the recent Dibamombe train crash have alleged that the state misled the country about the number of people who died in the accident. The authorities put the figures of the deceased at 5, but some people believe that more than 100 died when a passenger train collided head-on with a goods train near the resort town of Victoria Falls over a week ago.

National Railways of Zimbabwe officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to us said the five mentioned in the press were actually the crew members.

They said it’s very sad to see such information being politicized as scores of people died from both the crash and the burns sustained during and after the accident, which saw at least two coaches destroyed in an inferno.

A Zambian National Broadcasting Cooperation (ZNBC) report said the goods train was carrying copper sulphate and fuel. Some of those killed in the accident were Zambians returning from Zimbabwe and South Africa via Victoria Falls. Zambian officials told journalists it has sent a team to investigate as the actual figures of the dead remain a mystery.

According to villagers the scenes were horrific. Some that managed to escape are said to have collapsed less than 20 meters from the scene because of the serious burns. It is reported that a mass burial is expected as some bodies were charred beyond recognition.

A nurse working at Victoria Falls Hospital told us that 9 dead bodies were taken to the hospital but reports from her colleagues who went to the scene of the accident, and from eye witnesses, say at least two coaches packed with people were burnt. The nurse said; I believe they were bringing more bodies which I don’t know how many so far. And there are some people still missing.”

She also said she noticed the media had been giving misleading statistics even on the surviving victims who were treated at the hospital. “There were about 189 people treated but the media reported 20. It’s difficult to know why they are saying things like that without actually getting figures from us.”

Observers believe the statistics have been misleading so as not to expose the full extent of the dangerous collapse of the public transport system.

Outspoken Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo Pius Ncube said the government is preoccupied with portraying a good image and engages in untruths to portray this. He said, “We are aware that two and a half to three years ago – on the same line between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls – there was a very serious train accident (people were bringing in fuel from Zambia in plastic containers on the trains). A lot of people, I am told more than 200 people, died and our government went to put the number at 50. So you can never really trust them because they are always looking for ways of bailing themselves out.”

Our correspondent visited the scene of the accident but said that the area had been cordoned off by military and other security personnel. He was told; "You will be informed as soon as investigations are complete. If any of your relatives are dead, we will get to you," by an army officer.

These days more and more people are using the rail system to travel as many now depend on the trains due to the high cost of road transport, but this is fast becoming a death trap. Rail officials confirmed that signal warning systems stopped working years ago and train drivers now depend on phone calls between station foremen who tell the drivers where to stop, seriously exposing drivers and passengers to dangerous situations.

According to press reports, police say the driver of the passenger train ignored an order to give way to the goods train at a cross point in the Dibamombe area, leading to the tragedy. But staff at NRZ blame the ancient methods being used for signalling, which tragically resulted in a breakdown of communication between the two train drivers.

We were not able to get a comment from Fanuel Masikati the NRZ public relations manager but he has reportedly denied that the authorities distorted the death figures. He said the NRZ is concerned about human life and is aware that it’s communications system is no longer effective. He said there are plans to install a microwave communications system.

Meanwhile the National Railways of Zimbabwe has announced an 85% fare increase with immediate effect. A trip from Harare to Bulawayo now costs Z$2,100 up from Z$1,300 and Harare to Mutare went up to Z$1,500 up from Z$ 900.

This will make things very difficult for commuters who were finding the rail system cheaper than buses. A bus trip to Bulawayo from Mutare went up from Z$3,000 to Z$5,000.

At one time the NRZ introduced day trains to Bulawayo and Mutare but abandoned the idea due to fuel and wagon shortages. Although rail transport remains the cheapest form of transport in Zimbabwe it has become the most dangerous, especially the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls route which has experienced numerous fatal train accidents in the past 2 years.