MEMBERS of the Namibian Police’s Explosive Division was deployed to the scene in Usakos where an out-of-control truck crashed into train cars.
The truck was transporting ammonium nitrate which is used as explosives on mines and the specialist police officers had to make sure that scene is stable before members of the emergency service were able to free the driver that was trapped in the wreckage.
According to the incident report provided by the Namibian Police in the Erongo Region, the driver, a Zambian national, lost control over the vehicle after the brakes failed while he was driving down the long incline that leads into Usakos.
It is the second time this year that a heavy transport truck crashed through the safety barriers leading into Usakos and causing damage to train cars parked in the small town’s train shunting yard.
According to the report, the driver sustained severe injuries. After he was cut free from the wreckage, the driver was rushed to hospital in Usakos.
“The driver’s clinical condition, however, deteriorated rapidly and he was transferred to a hospital in Windhoek for more intensive medical care,” the reports state.
In the meantime, the scene where large amounts of ammonium nitrate fell out of the transport bags have been cleaned up and the accident scene has been made safe.
Ammonium nitrate is used as an ingredient of explosives used in the mining industry.
Cranes have been sent to Usakos to clear the wreckage of the truck and the damaged train cars from the scene.
