The Ghana Railways Company Limited has assured the public that its trains are safe. The assurance follows last Thursday, March 10 incident where over 60 passengers onboard a Sekondi to Takoradi bound passenger train sustained injuries in a stampede after the engine caught fire.
Speaking in an interview with Spice 91.9 FM, the Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Railway Company Limited, Thomas Brown said immediately the incident happened, as a responsible organization they ensured that all persons involved were sent to the hospital.
According to him, the passenger train had stopped at the Butuah Train Station near New Takoradi for routine formalities when smoke was detected billowing from the engine. Passengers onboard the coach, close to the engine, on seeing the smoke became alarmed and started running towards the other coaches amidst shouts of the train has caught fire.
Other passengers who heard the wails of the fleeing passengers also became alarmed and started to panic. Those close to the windows took the emergency hammer attached to the train and smashed the windows to enable them to escape.
Several of the passengers including onboard students, out of fear and desperation, all attempted to pass through the broken window at once causing a stampede. Those who were able to pass through the broken windows were cut by the broken glasses, leaving them with injuries to their body.
Mr Brown mentioned that persons who sustained injuries are recovering and those who were admitted at various hospitals have been discharged.
He said that it was an unfortunate incident because the trains and railways undergo inspections by technical men before coaches or trains hit the rail lines.
