Fatalities and casualties reported after British railway crash

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One person has died and “a number of people have been injured” after two passenger trains collided on Friday near Bedford, north of London, British Transport Police said.

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“A major incident has been declared, and officers are continuing to respond at the scene alongside colleagues from Bedfordshire Police and the local Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Services,” the police force said in an update late Friday.

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“We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died,” it added.

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The two passenger trains collided on Friday north of London, bringing emergency services, including air ambulances, rushing to the scene to help the injured.

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The crash occurred late afternoon south of Bedford, a market town around 56 miles (90 kilometres) north of the UK capital, according to East Midlands Railway (EMR)

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“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused,” passenger Pete Knapp told the Press Association news agency.

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“I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs,” he added, noting people appeared to have “life-threatening, major injuries” as well as minor injuries.

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Health Secretary James Murray said “a number of people have been injured,” as he thanked first responders for “helping those affected”.

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Unverified footage posted to social media showed two EMR trains having collided, one having run into the other. Passengers were pictured standing on the tracks beside damaged rail carriages.

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“We’re responding to reports of a collision involving two trains in the Bedford area,” transport police said on X.

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The trains appeared to have remained upright on the track, according to the images posted, though one passenger reported one of the carriages had left the rails.

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Knapp posted footage of the aftermath on the social media platform Bluesky, saying he was “in the front carriage” on one train and “in shock” after the collision.

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“I’m ok with bloody legs and back impact. Others are not good,” he added.

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– Air ambulances –

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An EMR spokesperson confirmed the collision involved two of its trains heading southbound towards London St Pancras station.

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One train had departed from Corby while the other had originated from Nottingham, both in central England.

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Trains were “unable to run in or out on London St Pancras for the remainder of this evening,” the statement added.

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Three local ambulance services said they had teams, including air ambulances, at the scene. Two of them described it as “a major incident”.

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Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said its crews were currently in attendance.

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Emergency services were still to provide any details of the casualties.

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Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “deeply concerned” by the reports of the collision.

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– Crash investigators on-site –

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The Rail Accident Investigation Branch, which probes such incidents on UK tramways and railways, said a team of its inspectors was on site “to start gathering evidence”.

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Train collisions are relatively rare in Britain.

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In September 2023, several people were injured after two trains collided at Aviemore railway station in the Highlands of Scotland.

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The crash happened on the Strathspey Railway, a heritage railway run separately from mass-transit public services, and involved a stationary carriage and another train in the station.

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One of the trains involved was the record-breaking, century-old Flying Scotsman, the first steam train to reach over 100 miles an hour, the National Railway Museum said.

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In August 2020, an early morning service from Aberdeen to Glasgow came off the tracks, killing three people near the town of Stonehaven, northeast Scotland, after a landslip caused by heavy rain.

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The driver of the train, a conductor and a passenger died, and six other people were injured in the tragedy.

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Network Rail — an arm of the UK Department for Transport — pleaded guilty in 2023 to safety failings at a court hearing, and the public body was fined £6.7 million ($8.4 million).

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AFP

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