NRZ fire incident: 51 passenger coaches reduced to shells

Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE National Railways of Zimbabwe has confirmed that a total of 51 decommissioned coaches were burnt down in an inferno that took place at the Bulawayo main station on Monday.

In an interview with Sunday News on Tuesday afternoon, NRZ Public Relations Manager Mr Andrew Kunambura confirmed the number of coaches burnt, saying the value and cause of the fire are yet to be ascertained.

“A total of 51 decommissioned passenger coaches were burnt by the fire which broke out on Monday around 1.30pm. The value of the burnt coaches is yet to be ascertained but since they were decommissioned, what it means is that we can only ascertain their disposable value as scrap.

“We, together with the police and Fire brigade, are still investigating the possible cause of the fire and we will update once the investigations are done,” said Mr Kunambura.

He said the coaches were decommissioned years ago after outliving their life span and were awaiting disposal as scrap.

Six fire tenders were sent out to contain the blaze and fire fighters had to connect to the NRZ borehole system for more water while water bowsers from the Bulawayo City Council were also summoned to assist in the fight against the raging inferno.
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