Two die as luxury safari train derails

Seventeen coaches of the Rovos Rail train, which was approaching the end of a journey from Cape Town, came off the tracks just outside a station in Pretoria. Authorities said 25 other passengers were taken to hospital.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Four Britons were onboard, all of whom were uninjured."

The passengers also included 44 Americans, with four each from France and South Africa and three from Germany, said Rovos Rail.

Emergency worker Chris Botha said one of the victims went into labour immediately after the accident but neither she nor her baby survived.

Rovos Rail offers holiday trips across Africa that recall the golden age of travel, on trains which combine Edwardian period features such as wood panelling with modern conveniences such as air conditioning and hot showers for their 72 passengers in 36 cabins.