At least 28 people remain in hospital, nine of them in a critical condition, after two East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains collided near Bedford on Friday evening, killing the driver of one service.British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy Dorsey said more than 80 people needed hospital treatment after the accident. Of the 89 injured, 28 were still receiving treatment on Saturday morning.“It is tragic that the driver of one of the trains died in the collision,” Dorsey told reporters. He added: “His family has been informed and is receiving support from specially trained officers.”
The train collided with a slow-moving service
The collision occurred shortly after 5pm when the EMR train collided with the rear of another service running on the same line.
The trains in question were a 4.40pm departure from Corby and a 3.50pm service from Nottingham, both bound for London St Pancras.Investigators are working to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the accident.
The survivor describes chaotic scenes
according to The GuardianPassenger Brett Byatt, a teacher from Bedford who was on the train that hit the slower service, described scenes of devastation inside the carriages.
He said that the passengers were thrown through the compartments upon impact, resulting in broken bones and serious bleeding injuries. Pyatt claimed that only a few people in his carriage escaped unharmed.He told the BBC: “The seats snapped back and hit the people behind them as the passengers rushed forward.” today He added that he saw a woman suffering from a broken leg during the accident.The passengers began providing first aid to the injured before emergency services arrived about 10 minutes later.Rail journalist Tony Miles told the BBC that investigators would examine data from the train’s “black box” recorder to determine what happened in the moments before the collision.
King Charles ‘very sad’
Buckingham Palace said King Charles III had been informed of the developments and was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy.A palace spokesman said that the King’s thoughts are with the family of the deceased driver and all those injured or affected by the accident.
The investigation is ongoing
Inspectors from the Railway Accident Investigation Branch were deployed to the accident site to collect evidence.Network Rail said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of a fellow rail member and thanked emergency responders and rail staff for their rapid response to the incident.The investigation is expected to focus on operational data, signaling systems and train movements in the period leading up to the collision.
