Fourteen people were killed and hundreds injured after a passenger train collided with a truck and a car in South Africa.

One of the train's carriages burst into flames after the accident in a rural area 110 miles south-west of Johannesburg.

A train service official quoted by Reuters said the death toll had risen from four to 14, while South Africa's transport minister said at least 12 people had died and more than 260 were hurt after the Port Elizabeth-Johannesburg train hit a vehicle near Hanneman.

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"It is not yet confirmed but the death toll for now is sitting at 14," said Daisy Daniel, a spokeswoman for passenger rail service Shosholoza Meyl.

Video of the crash in Free State province showed fire and smoke billowing from at least one carriage, with part of the train derailed and overhead power lines damaged.

A large vehicle was left upside down beside a train carriage that appeared to have partly crushed another, smaller vehicle.

Passengers, some of whom were said to be heading home after the New Year break, were seen with their luggage on the side of the road close to the wreck.

Survivors told how they attempted to save fellow passengers trapped on the burning train.

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AFP/Getty 26/50 15 August 2019 Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bow during a memorial service ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two, in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters 27/50 14 August 2019 A woman walks with a Kashmir's flag to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, during a ceremony to celebrate Pakistan's 72nd Independence Day at the Mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi, Pakistan. Reuters 28/50 13 August 2019 The extraordinary moment a volcano erupted, shooting luminous hot lava from the surface, as a lightning bolt striked the centre of the mountain. Photographer Martin Reitze, 55, captured rare images of volcanic ash escaping from the Ebeko volcano in Russia whilst the lightning froze the ash cloud in time. Martin, from Munich, was standing around a kilometre away from the northern crater of the volcano when it erupted. The volcano expert said: "The strong lightning which shows in the image is a very rare exception, as it was much stronger than usual." Martin Reitze/SWNS 29/50 12 August 2019 People swim in a public bath pool in Zalakaros, Hungary. Some regions of the country have been issued the highest grade of warning by the National Meteorological Service as the temperatures may reach 33-38 centigrade. EPA 30/50 11 August 2019 A pro-democracy protester is held by police outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police station during a demonstration against the controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 31/50 10 August 2019 Muslim pilgrims make their way down on a rocky hill known as Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. AP 32/50 9 August 2019 Waves hit a sea wall in front of buildings in Taizhou, China's eastern Zhejiang province. China issued a red alert for incoming Super Typhoon Lekima which is expected to batter eastern Zhejiang province early on August 10 with high winds and torrential rainfall. AFP/Getty 33/50 8 August 2019 A herder struggles with his flock across a motorway at the city cattle market, ahead of the Eid al-Adha in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. EPA 34/50 7 August 2019 Kazakh servicemen perform during a ceremony opening the International Army Games at the 40th military base Otar in Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan. Reuters 35/50 6 August 2019 Paleontologist Naturalis Anne Schulp takes part in the construction of the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex called Trix in Naturalis in Leiden, The Netherlands. After a month-long tour of Europe, Trix is home in time for the opening of the new museum. AFP/Getty 36/50 5 August 2019 Flowers paying tribute to the eight-year-old boy who died after he was pushed under a train at Frankfurt am Main's station. The horrific crime happened last week and has led politicians to call for heightened security. AFP/Getty 37/50 4 August 2019 Mourners take part in a vigil near the border fence between Mexico and the US after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso killed 20 people. The suspected gunman behind shooting is believed to be a 21-year-old white man called Patrick Crusius. Reuters 38/50 3 August 2019 Pramac Racing's rider Jack Miller in action during a practice session at the Motorcycling Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. The race will take place on 4 August. EPA 39/50 2 August 2019 An extremely rare Pink Meanie jellyfish on display at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. The Pink Meanie was discovered during a nightlight jellyfish dive by the collections team in the waters around Robben Island and in Cape Town Harbour. Pink Meanies are jellyvorous, meaning they feed on other jelly species by reeling them in with their long tentacles. Discovering the Pink Meanie in its early ephyra stage meant the team could study its growth rate which turned out to be very quick as it grew to the metaephyra stage in about a week and a half. The Mexican pink meanie (Drymonema larsoni) was only discovered in the year 2000. A Mediterranean relative, known as the Big Pink Jellyfish (Drymonema dalmatinum) has been known to science since the 1800s but when spotted in 2014 it had been almost 70 years since the last sighting. These jellies are incredibly rare and this new South African species is no exception. EPA 40/50 1 August 2019 Palestinian men breathe fire on the beach as entertainment for children during the summer vacation in Gaza City. AFP/Getty 41/50 31 July 2019 A woman rows a boat through the lotus plants on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. The lake is a popular tourist destination because of its floating gardens and lotus flowers. EPA 42/50 30 July 2019 An effigy of demon Ghantakarna is burnt to symbolize the destruction of evil and belief to drive evil spirits and ghost, during the Ghantakarna festival at the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Nepal. Reuters 43/50 29 July 2019 Hundreds of hot air balloons take part in the Great Line at the Mondial Air Ballons festival, in an attempt to break the 2017 record of 456 balloons aligning in an hour during the biggest meeting in the world, in Chambley, France. Reuters 44/50 28 July 2019 Anti-extradition bill protesters with umbrellas attend a rally against the police brutality in Hong Kong. EPA 45/50 27 July 2019 A general view of stalls closed following yesterday's volcanic eruption at the tourism area of Mount Tangkuban Parahu in the north of Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia. Reuters 46/50 26 July 2019 Protesters rally against a controversial extradition bill in the arrivals hall at the international airport in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 47/50 25 July 2019 The pack rides in a valley during the eighteenth stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Embrun and Valloire. AFP/Getty 48/50 24 July 2019 Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the investigation into Russian Interference of the 2016 Presidential Election. Reuters 49/50 23 July 2019 People cool down at the fountains of Trocadero during a heatwave in Paris. EPA 50/50 22 July 2019 Activists burn an effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte, depicted as a sea monster, during a protest near congress. This is to coincide with his state of the nation address in Manila. AFP/Getty

“I saw around 12 cars on their side and one was already burning. We heard some women screaming when we came closer‚ so a few of us climbed over the cars to investigate,” Tiaan Esterhuizen told TimesLIVE.

“Two of the women were sort of on top of each other. Another was further back. Her legs were trapped. One of the women was shouting that there was a baby inside also‚” he said. “We searched but could not find the child.”

He added: “One man’s back was burned‚ others just had singed clothing. I am not really sure how the car was also involved.

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"But other passengers told me they heard the train blowing its horn for a long time before the collision.”

The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with local authorities, and asked those affected to call +27 12 421 7500 in South Africa or 020 7008 1500 in the UK.</s>Johannesburg – The death toll in the fiery collision between a passenger train, truck and car near Kroonstad in the Free State on Thursday morning has risen to 18, the provincial government has confirmed.

Free State health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said that officials conducting the search and rescue operation had updated that number of recovered bodies to 18. Earlier, the number was 14.

"We are hoping that the number will not increase but we are not ruling it out," Mvambi said.

He said rescuers were still searching three burnt-out carriages for more bodies.

- Are you there? Send us your eyewitness accounts and photos.

Earlier on Thursday, ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said at least 100 people were injured.

A section of the train had burst into flames after colliding with the vehicles. Those who had sustained injuries were treated on the scene, before being transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.

"Provincial fire and medical services were the first to arrive on the scene, finding that several carriages were lying on the side. A fire had broken out in one of the carriages and had begun to spread," Meiring said in a statement.

According to a statement by Shosholoza Meyl, the train was travelling from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg.

Although initial reports indicated that injuries numbered in the dozens, Netcare911 spokesperson Tebogo Magoro earlier confirmed 40 injured passengers and four fatalities.

Another video of the train that caught fire after colliding with a truck between Hennenman and Kroonstad in the Free State. Emergency services say between 100 and 200 people have sustained injuries. Authorities have not confirmed any fatalities. Vid: Supplied #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/Y0Wz6mQI4b — Jamaine Krige (@jour_maine) January 4, 2018</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The truck apparently failed to stop at a crossing

A passenger train has caught fire in South Africa after colliding with a truck, killing at least 18 people and injuring 268, rescue workers say.

Some of the bodies are "burnt beyond recognition", Free State Health Department spokesman Mondli Mvambi told South African news site Times Live.

Video footage showed a fire blazing through at least one carriage, near a crushed car and an overturned truck.

Evacuated passengers were seen standing on the roadside with luggage.

The collision occurred near Kroonstad city in Free State province, after the truck failed to stop at a crossing, a passenger told local media.

Around 700 people were on the train when it was hit by a truck, a BBC correspondent has reported.

'They didn't make it'

The driver of the truck tried to flee, but was arrested by police, passenger Seipati Moletsane told the privately owned eCNA news site.

Passengers in the first two coaches were wounded, she added.

"I was so traumatised. I didn't know what to do. I was looking for a door just to jump out. Every door was locked... All of a sudden, we just saw smoke, smoke, smoke," Ms Moletsane said.

A tweeter posted a video of the fire.

The emergency services rushed to the scene and battled the blaze on the train, which had been travelling from the coastal city of Port Elizabeth to the commercial capital, Johannesburg.

Officials fear the number of dead could rise, reports the BBC's Lebo Diseko from Johannesburg.

Mthuthuzeli Swartz told the BBC that emergency teams were trying to lift the train to see if there was anyone else trapped underneath the wreckage.

Passenger Tiaan Esterhuizen told the BBC that he and his family managed to get off the train, and he then tried to help three women trapped in the mangled wreckage.

"They were shouting to us: 'Listen, the baby, the baby!' We tried to look for the baby but we couldn't find it.

"We broke down the windows to look [for] it. And then... that same truck that they were in... was full of flames. So, they didn't make it."

Image copyright @ER24EMS Image caption Some passengers managed to escape

The flames became intense, forcing him and others to retreat, he said.

"We used some fire extinguishers the police had‚ but it didn't work‚" Mr Esterhuizen was quoted in local media as saying.</s>At least 12 people were killed as a passenger train caught fire after colliding with a truck near Kroonstad city in South Africa’s Free State Province on Thursday, the BBC reported. Around 180 people have been seriously injured in the incident, rescue workers said.

The police arrested the driver of the truck, who tried to flee, a passenger told eCNA news site. Around 850 passengers were evacuated from the train, which was headed to Johannesburg, said the police.

Video footage showed at least one carriage, a crushed car and an overturned truck on fire.

“Those with serious injuries are being transported to the hospital,” private emergency services company spokesperson Tebogo Magoro said.</s>A passenger train in South Africa has smashed into a lorry at a level crossing between the towns of Hennenman and Kroonstad killing at least 14 people, injuring 180 and throwing several carriages off the rails
• South Africa train crash leaves at least 14 people dead and scores injured</s>Fourteen people have been killed in a collision involving a train in South Africa's Free State province, according to a train service official cited by Reuters.Emergency services posted details of the accident on Twitter, stating that initial reports indicated at least 100 had been injured. The number of injured was later revised to 260.The incident occurred between the towns of Hennenman and Kroonstad.The death toll has risen from earlier reports of four up to 14, and may increase. "It is not yet confirmed but the death toll for now is sitting at 14." Daisy Daniel, spokesperson for Shosholoza Meyl, said.Local media report that the train caught fire after colliding with a truck and another vehicle. Images shared on social media show significant damage to the train.The train, operated by Shosholoza Meyl, was reportedly on its way from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg.</s>Four people have been killed and scores injured in a collision involving a train in South Africa’s Free State province, according to emergency services attending the scene.

Emergency services posted details of the accident on Twitter, stating that initial reports indicated at least 100 had been injured. The incident occurred between the towns of Hennenman and Kroonstad.

Local media report that the train caught fire after colliding with a truck and another vehicle. Images shared on social media show significant damage to the train.

The train, operated by Shosholoza Meyl, was reportedly on its way from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg.</s>A passenger train carrying people home after the holidays slammed into a truck in rural South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 260 others, the government said.

Authorities blamed the truck driver for allegedly trying to cross the tracks just ahead of the oncoming train, part of which burst into flames after the collision and forced passengers to hurriedly drag their luggage from the smoking wreck to a nearby road.

"The truck driver was taking chances. He thought that he was going to pass through," Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi told journalists. "Little did he know that the train was going to hit him. That has cost a lot of lives."

At least 12 people died and 268 were injured, four of them critically, said Maswanganyi. He indicated that the death toll could rise.

The train with 429 passengers aboard had been traveling from Port Elizabeth to the country's commercial hub, Johannesburg.

Video shows part of the Shosholoza Meyl train in flames after the collision that occurred between the communities of Hennenman and Kroonstad in Free State province. The crash derailed half a dozen carriages, and power lines were damaged. A large vehicle was upside down beside a train carriage that appeared to have partly crushed another, smaller vehicle.

The truck driver emerged unscathed from the accident and the train driver and his assistant suffered minor injuries, said Mthuthuzeli Swartz, acting CEO of South Africa's state-owned passenger rail agency.

Swartz told local media outlet eNCA that the truck towing two trailers was halfway across the track when it was hit by the train and dragged for 400 meters (1,300 feet).

"Human error" caused the accident, he said.</s>A passenger train carrying people home after the holidays slammed into a lorry in rural South Africa, killing at least 18 people and injuring about 260 others, authorities have said.

Officials said the lorry driver allegedly tried to cross the tracks just ahead of the oncoming train, part of which burst into flames after the collision, trapping some passengers in carriages.

Those who were able to escape with their luggage hurriedly dragged bags from the smoking wreck to a nearby road.

“The truck driver was taking chances. He thought that he was going to pass through,” the country’s transport minister Joe Maswanganyi told journalists.

“Little did he know that the train was going to hit him. That has cost a lot of lives.”

Some of the dead were badly burned, said Mthuthuzeli Swartz, acting chief executive of the state-owned passenger rail agency.

The train with 429 passengers aboard had been travelling from Port Elizabeth to the country’s commercial hub, Johannesburg.

Video showed part of the Shosholoza Meyl train in flames after the collision that occurred between the communities of Hennenman and Kroonstad in Free State province.

The crash derailed half a dozen carriages, and power lines were damaged.

A large vehicle was upside down beside a train carriage that appeared to have partly crushed another, smaller vehicle.

The lorry driver emerged unscathed and the train driver and his assistant suffered minor injuries, Mr Swartz said.

He told local media outlet eNCA that the lorry towing two trailers was halfway across the track when it was hit by the train and dragged for 400 metres.

“Human error” caused the accident, he said. – AP</s>A number of people have died after a train crash in South Africa, which officials say happened when a truck failed to stop at a crossing.

Footage showed a large fire in the derailed train near Kroonstad city in Free State province.
A Shosholoza train collides with a vehicle at a crossing near Kroonstad in the Free State, South Africa, killing 19 and injuring at least 100 people.