A 20-year-old Zimbabwean was crushed to death by a goods train while trying to cross a railway line near Musina town, police said.

Police spokesman for Vhembe district Insp Thivhulawi Tshilate said the incident occurred on Thursday evening in an area between Mopanei and Lilyput. "The deceased, a Zimbabwean, was discovered by a passerby. He reported the matter to the police in Musina who then took him to hospital. We suspect he was trying to cross the railway line when he was hit by the train," he said.

Tshilate said the deceased sustained head injuries and broken legs. He died, however, on being admitted to the Musina Hospital. His was subsequently taken to the mortuary for a post-mortem.

Tshilate could, however, not supply the name of the deceased, saying police were yet to inform his next-of-kin.

"We found his identification documents with him and he is from Chinyoka area in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe, but we are yet to locate the relatives," said the police spokesman.

The incident comes barely a month after another Zimbabwean collapsed and died under mysterious circumstances near the Agricultural Experimental Farm along the Pondrift-Musina public road. He was among a group of several illegal immigrants who had entered the country through undesignated entry points along the crocodile-infested Limpopo River.