Driver killed and dozens injured in train crash north of London: Police
British transport authorities have declared a "major incident" after two trains collided north of London, leaving a driver dead and dozens of passengers injured.
"We've declared a major incident and a significant emergency service response is ongoing," British Transport Police (BTP) Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy announced in a statement on Friday.
Police said that one train driver is dead and dozens of people are injured. Medics said eleven people had very serious injuries, 22 serious injuries, and a further 56 had minor injuries.
The cause of the collision is yet unclear as the incident is still under investigation.
"We are working at pace to establish exactly what's happened," the BTP chief said. "We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died."
One Bedford passenger likened the train crash to a "bomb explosion."
I was traveling in the "front carriage of the train that collided into another one," he said.
"When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere. It felt like I'd been in a bomb explosion.
"I saw people's bloodied faces and people's legs looked broken and there was smoke everywhere," he said.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the trains' collision as "unusual".
Alexander said the incident involved two southbound East Midlands Railway (EMR) passenger services, both traveling to London St. Pancras on Friday afternoon.
"I am deeply concerned" by the news of the collision, she said. "My thoughts are with all of those affected."
When asked by reporters about the cause of the fatal incident, Alexander said that it was "too early to speculate".
"We will make sure that there's a thorough investigation done to establish how this collision happened and to ensure that lessons are learned so that we don't have an incident like this ever again," Alexander said.
"The UK railways are some of the safest in the world," she added. "It's very unusual for this to happen on the network."
EMR passenger services to and from London St Pancras were suspended for the rest of Friday evening, and disruption is expected into Saturday.
General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Eddie Dempsey said the UK trade union was "devastated to learn that a train driver and former RMT rep has tragically died" in the incident.
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