At least 28 people remain in hospital, nine of them in critical condition, after two East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains collided near Bedford on Friday evening, killing the driver of one of the services.British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said more than 80 people required hospital treatment following the crash. Of the 89 people injured, 28 were still receiving treatment on Saturday morning.“Tragically, the driver of one of the trains died in the collision,” D’Orsi told reporters. “His family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.”
Train rammed into slower-moving service
The collision occurred shortly after 5 pm when one EMR train struck the rear of another service travelling on the same line. The trains involved were the 4.40 pm departure from Corby and the 3.50 pm service from Nottingham, both bound for London St Pancras.Investigators are working to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the crash.
Survivor describes chaotic scenes
According to The Guardian, passenger Brett Byatt, a teacher from Bedford who was onboard the train that struck the slower-moving service, described scenes of devastation inside the carriages.He said passengers were thrown across compartments on impact, suffering broken bones and severe bleeding injuries. Byatt claimed only a handful of people in his carriage escaped unharmed.“The seats broke backwards into people behind them when passengers were flung forward,” he told the BBC’s Today programme, adding that he witnessed a woman suffer a broken leg during the crash.Passengers began administering first aid to the injured before emergency services arrived around 10 minutes later.Railway journalist Tony Miles told the BBC that investigators would examine data from the train’s “black box” recorder to establish what happened in the moments before the collision.
King Charles ‘greatly saddened’
Buckingham Palace said King Charles III had been kept updated on developments and was “greatly saddened” by the tragedy.The king’s thoughts were with the family of the deceased driver and all those injured or affected by the incident, a palace spokesperson said.
Investigation underway
Inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch have been deployed to the crash site to gather evidence.Network Rail said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of a railway colleague and thanked emergency responders and railway staff for their swift response to the incident.The investigation is expected to focus on operational data, signalling systems and train movements in the lead-up to the collision.
