Train station stampede kills seven
A stampede at a Johannesburg train station has killed seven people dead and injured nine others.
Officials say commuters rushed down stairs at Park Station on Friday toward a passenger train bound for the city of Mafikeng.
Witnesses say the stampede followed a confrontation between passengers and security guards who locked the entrance gates to the platform.
Police spokesman Willem De Villiers says a sign above the entrance told commuters the gates would be locked 10 minutes before the train's departure.
"Some people pushed up and some pushed down, and seven died," he said.
Bintu Petsana, a spokeswoman for the state railway, Spoornet, says three women, two men and the two children were killed on the stairs leading to the platforms.
It is unclear how badly injured the nine people were.
Spoornet would thoroughly investigate the incident, she said.
On February 19, commuters angry at poor service and train delays set fire to the Pretoria station building.
A stampede at another train station on the Gauteng province in July 1996 killed 15 people and injured 88 others. The commuters were fleeing security guards who used electric prods to control the crowd while checking tickets.
