Train Wreck

This morning around 4 am, as I was fast asleep under my mosquito net, a single train engine careened backwards into its detached passenger cars, derailing two of the cars and stopping halfway into the third car. The wreck happened in my town less than a kilometer from my house. I didn’t hear anything and had no idea about the accident until I saw a text from another PCV asking me if I had heard about it (he’s a teacher and gets up much earlier than I do for work). Since the train tracks are less than 300 meters behind my house, I immediately walked out to take a look. Up ahead I could see the usual people that cross the tracks on their way to work looking left. When I finally got up to the tracks I could see the train up ahead about 500 meters. It was stopped in the middle of town blocking the street that divides the two parts of town. When I followed the tracks to scene, I could see many people gathered around, but there was no sense of urgency and I didn’t see any ambulances, police or medical officers. I didn’t see any passengers either. There was some yellow tape around the scene, but no one paid any mind to it (this is Africa –there are no hard boundaries) and we all stood right up next to the train. I found my friend there and he informed me that the passengers had already been taken to the hospital. He wasn’t sure if anyone had been killed, but judging by the crumpled cars that were hanging over half into the ditch, it seemed likely.

Apparently the passenger cars detached from the engine somewhere in town and the conductor continued down the track without noticing for about 500 meters. Finally realizing his mistake, he puts the engine in reverse and, at a high speed, crashed into the waiting passenger cars. Four boys were in the first car as the engine hit. Only three of them survived after being pulled from the wreckage. Thirty other passengers were taken to Mariental hospital for injuries.

My heart sank when I heard this information. I imagined the scene and wondered if it could’ve possibly gone differently had I been there. The all too familiar feeling of guilt was starting to creep up inside me. What if I had been there to help? What if I had woken up and been able to put my EMT training into action and assist at the scene? We even did a train wreck scenario in my EMT class but I never thought I’d be so close in proximity to an actual accident like this. But I might as well have been back in California because I slept through the whole thing and by the time I arrived 4 hours later, the boy and the other passengers were no longer there. But this “what if” game could go on forever if I let it so I just have to trust that if I were meant to be there, then I would have been.

Shocking and disturbing things happen here on a regular basis and it’s hard not to be affected by what we see. I am finding new ways to deal with these emotions in a way that is not ignoring them nor letting them overrun me and I know that skill will serve me well throughout my life.

This tragedy has brought back to my mind the desire to teach basic first aid to some of the youth I'm working with as well as the staff at our centre. It will certainly be a challenge with the language barriers, but it's something I'd really like to do and I think will give everyone a little more peace of mind.