LONDON — Two passenger trains collided in Britain on Friday evening, killing the train driver and injuring dozens of others, according to the authorities.
The collision took place about 5:15 p.m. local time near the town of Bedford, in south-central England, officials said, prompting a major emergency response from the police and health workers, according to the transport police.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) said its 16:40 service from Corby to London St Pancras crashed into the 15:50 Nottingham to London St Pancras service at Bedford South.
“Tragically, this incident resulted in the fatality of an EMR driver and a number of injuries to passengers on board,” the rail company said in a statement.
The East England Ambulance Service said in a statement that one person had died at the site of the crash. Eleven others suffered life-threatening injuries; 22 people, less gravely hurt, required immediate treatment; and 56 others had minor injuries, the statement said.
In a statement published shortly later, Britain’s transit workers’ union said that a driver of one of the trains, a former union representative, had died.
An operator at Bedford Hospital said by phone that the medical center was preparing for a “major incident” after the collision. The East England Ambulance Service also said it had sent an air ambulance to the scene, and encouraged people to avoid the area. The town is about 45 miles north of London.
“It felt like a bomb, like I was in an explosion,” Peter Knapp, a 40-year-old air quality scientist and a filmmaker, said of the crash. He was in the front carriage of the train that rammed into the one ahead of it, he said, adding, “I’m amazed that I’m walking and breathing.”
Knapp said that afterward the carriage was full of dust, with the train’s seats “all over the place.” He said that some people’s faces were covered in blood, and that he saw at least two people with what he called life-threatening injuries. He himself was bleeding from his shins and in a wheelchair after the crash, which he said caused his back to seize up.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that reports of the collision were “hugely concerning” and thanked emergency services for their “swift response”.
“First and foremost, my thoughts are with the family of the person who has sadly lost their life, and with those who have been seriously injured,” he said in a post on X.
Will Rogers, the managing director of EMR, said: “We are currently on the scene and working closely with Network Rail and the emergency services to support those involved and assist with the ongoing response”.
“Once those directly impacted have been helped, we will make every effort to ascertain the cause in cooperation with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch,” he added.
Source: Saudi Gazette