Staff Reporter
London – A collision between two trains about 60 miles (100km) north of London has killed at least one person and injured dozens, British Transport Police said.
Emergency services were called at about 5:15pm Friday (UK time) to the line south of Bedford, where two East Midlands Railway trains were involved in the crash.
Both trains were travelling south to London St. Pancras station when they collided outside the town of Bedford, according to information on rail tracking websites. Emergency services deployed a number of resources to the scene including an air ambulance and hazardous incident team from the East of England Ambulance Service.
“We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died,” police said in a statement. “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.”
A video posted on social media by one of the passengers showed what appeared to be the front of one train entangled with the back of another, with the carriages appearing to remain upright on the tracks.
The East of England Ambulance Service later said that 11 people had very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and 56 had minor injuries.
Peter Knapp, a train passenger, said he was in the rear train when the collision occurred without any warning.
“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke,” Knapp said. “People were crying, screaming. People were so scared and confused.”
“I got up, and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs,” he added. “And then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”
Knapp told the UK Telegraph that he had initially thought there had been a terror attack.
“The front carriage collided into the front of another one and when I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere, and it felt like I’d been in a bomb explosion,” he told the UK Telegraph.
“When I got up, I saw people with bloodied faces, and people’s legs looked broken. There was smoke everywhere.”
Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said a significant emergency service response was under way as authorities worked to establish what had happened.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which represents many railway workers, said it was monitoring the situation and expressed its concern over reports of “serious injuries” sustained by both train staff and passengers.
“My thoughts are with the family of the person who has sadly lost their life, and with those who have been seriously injured,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
Reuters, AP
