Metrorail apologises for stampede

Measures to improve the flow of commuters at Pretoria's main Bosman train station would soon be implemented; an official said, following a stampede which left 18 people injured, Independent Online reports.

"The accident is deeply regretted and we would want to apologise to all our commuters who were affected," said Metrorail spokeswoman Lilian Mofokeng, adding that the number of injured commuters had risen to 18 but only one person was still in hospital by the close of business on Thursday.

The Railway Safety Regulator had launched an investigation into the stampede, spokesman Sibongiseni Henna said in a statement. Preliminary information suggested that a train was re-routed from its usual platform, number seven, to number eight. Commuters therefore had to rush from platform seven to eight "which led to overcrowding and some panic in the subway, hence the injuries during the stampede". The SA Communist Party said it was angered by the stampede as it was not the first time problems had been reported at the station.

"This points to the inadequacies of our interventions and the risk that the working class and the poor are confronted with on a daily basis as they commute to and from work," SACP spokesman Malesela Maleka told Independent Online.

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