Man convicted over minibus deaths

Three people were killed in the incident

An Iraqi asylum seeker who drove a minibus into the path of an express train, killing three foreign labourers, has been jailed for five years.

Adnan Kadir Karim, 25, was taking the group to work in fields near Evesham in Worcestershire when the vehicle was hit on a level crossing at about 90mph.

He was convicted of three counts of manslaughter as a result of the crash.

Wolverhampton Crown Court had heard how Karim did not have a British or an Iraqi driving licence.

If he had gone onto the crossing a bit further, you could have had 10 people dead in that van Detective Chief Inspector David Lester

Soran Karim, a 23-year-old Iraqi, Satish Kumar, 28, from India, and Islam Uddin Ahmed, 46, from Bangladesh, were all killed in the accident on 7 July last year.

The court had been told how the defendant, who was unable to read English, did not take account of safety features on the unmanned crossing at Pools Crossing, Ryden Lane in Charlton.

They were designed to allow people and vehicles to pass safely and included stop signs and a telephone linked to the signal box at Evesham.

Karim, who had denied three counts of manslaughter by criminal negligence, was jailed for five years on each of the three charges. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The asylum seeker, of Carpenters Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, was also banned from driving for two years.

Warning 'ignored'

Speaking after the case, Detective Chief Inspector David Lester of British Transport Police said the train had struck the van only a glancing blow, which spared the lives of several passengers in the vehicle.

"If he had gone onto the crossing a bit further, you could have had 10 people dead in that van.

"There were 150 people on the train and it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

"The defendant couldn't read English but it was obvious that it was a warning sign and he ignored it.

"This incident goes to show how important it for motorists to respect the railway and adhere to warning signs."

Peter Luff, the Conservative MP for Mid-Worcestershire, who was travelling to London on the train when it struck the vehicle, said: "I am clear that the accident focuses the attention of the government on the need to do something about the use of casual foreign labour."