A four-year-old boy is receiving treatment in hospital after he was struck by a moving train near Langa railway station in Cape Town.
The incident happened on Tuesday while the boy and another child were reportedly crossing the railway tracks on their way home to the Siyahlala informal settlement.
According to Langa police, one child managed to cross safely. However, the four-year-old tried to cross as a train approached and was struck.
Emergency services rushed him to hospital. His father confirmed that the boy was alive and receiving medical care but said the family was not ready to discuss the traumatic incident.
Family left distraught after incident
Langa police station commander Colonel Noxolo Ntshiba visited the child’s family following the incident.
Ntshiba said police understood that the boy had been left at home in the care of his 11-year-old sibling. However, officers avoided asking the family too many questions because of their emotional state.
She said the child’s mother was distraught and that the police’s immediate priority was to support the family.
Ntshiba appealed to parents and guardians to supervise children closely, especially following the reopening of schools.
She also urged families to ensure that children attend school and remain properly supervised to prevent similar incidents.
Calls grow to relocate nearby families
Ward councillor Lwazi Phakade said the incident highlighted the dangers faced by people living close to railway tracks.
He described the location of the Siyahlala informal settlement as unsafe and called for authorities to urgently relocate residents.
Phakade warned that continued delays were placing lives at risk. He said families should not be living next to an active railway line and called for the incident to be the last of its kind in the area.
People have also been urged not to cross railway tracks because of the serious risk posed by moving trains.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa had not commented on the incident by the time the initial report was published.
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