BBC News Online: UK

Eight dead in train disaster

The death toll could rise further as an unspecified number of bodies have still to be recovered from the wreckage, said British Transport Police.

Carriages came off the track and one train burst into flames. A massive column of smoke could be seen across west London.

Ambulances have taken 127 people to hospitals in and around west London, many with burns injuries. St Mary's Hospital in Paddington cancelled all out-patient appointments to treat the majority of the wounded.

Twenty-one people were seriously injured. A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Of those injured, some of the patients are extremely critical and are suffering from life-threatening injuries."

Some survivors were trapped for several hours in one of the carriages, but all of them are now reported to have been freed. Firefighters are continuing to look for bodies in the wreckage.

The walking wounded were treated at a school and a supermarket near the scene. Among the injured was writer Jilly Cooper, who crawled to safety through a window and is not believed to be seriously hurt.

The accident happened near Ladroke Grove in west London at 0811BST, on the same stretch of line as the Southall rail crash in 1997 in which seven people died and 150 were injured.

The 0806BST two-carriage service run by Thames Trains from Paddington to Bedwyn in Wiltshire collided with the incoming 0603BST Great Western 125 express train from Cheltenham.

Mark Rogers, a passenger on one of the trains, said: "There was an almighty crash and the train rolled over and over, first onto its roof and then onto its side.

"One woman I saw thrown out of the window and she was trapped beneath the train. She was at least very severely injured."

Click here to see the site of the crash

Mr Rogers said the carriage behind the driver had been "ripped apart like a sardine can" and was lying over the top of the 125.

Another survivor, Patrick Welcome, was involved in a plane crash just two weeks ago when the jet in which he was travelling overshot a runway and collided with trees in Bangkok. "My guardian angels have been working overtime," he said.

Andrew McNaughton, of Railtrack, told reporters from the position of the track it "must have been very near to a head-on collision".

He said there would have been about 4-500 passengers on the express train, with more than 150 people on the Thames train. The casualties were in the front carriages of the 125 and on the smaller train.

There was a standard automatic warning system on both trains, but Mr McNaughton would not confirm whether the systems were switched on or off.

Health and Safety Executive inspectors have begun an investigation at the crash scene.

The Transport Secretary John Prescott has announced that there will be a public inquiry into the crash, while the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said he was "appalled by what is a truly dreadful tragedy".

Lawyers for the victims of the Southall rail crash said they would demand that the inquiry into the 1997 disaster expand to cover Tuesday's crash.

And Conservative Transport spokesman John Redwood said: "We need a proper inquiry and we need some answers for the future."

The Queen has sent a message of sympathy to those bereaved and injured.

"Please pass on my sympathies to the families and friends of those who have died, and to those who have been injured.

"Could you also express my thanks to those members of the rail and emergency services who are still working to help those hurt or in shock."

Emergency numbers for worried relatives and friends are 0207 834 7777 and 01793 499458.

(click here to return)

Relevant Stories

Crash causes travel chaos (05 Oct 99 | UK)
Crash inquiry 'must start in days' (05 Oct 99 | UK)
Is rail travel becoming less safe? (05 Oct 99 | UK)
Emergency services swing into action (05 Oct 99 | Health)
Blair promises 'fullest' crash inquiry (05 Oct 99 | UK Politics)
Cutting through the crash (05 Oct 99 | UK)
'It's like being hit by a car' (05 Oct 99 | Health)
Crash raises familiar questions (05 Oct 99 | UK)
Rail company shares drop (05 Oct 99 | The Company File)
In pictures: Paddington train crash (05 Oct 99 | UK)
Chronology of rail accidents (05 Oct 99 | UK)
Passengers relive crash horror (05 Oct 99 | UK)

Internet Links

Metropolitan Police
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Railtrack
Great Western Trains
Health and Safety Executive

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

In this section

Next steps for peace
Blairs' surprise over baby
Bowled over by Lord's
Beef row 'compromise' under fire
Hamilton 'would sell mother'
Industry misses new trains target
Quins fightback shocks Cardiff (From Sport)
Vodafone takeover battle heats up (From Business)
IRA ceasefire challenge rejected
Thousands celebrate Asian culture
Christie could get two-year ban (From Sport)
Colleagues remember Compo (From Entertainment)
Mother pleads for baby's return
Toys withdrawn in E.coli health scare
Nurses role set to expand (From Health)
Israeli PM's plane in accident
More lottery cash for grassroots
Pro-lifers plan shock launch
Double killer gets life
Cold 'cure' comes one step closer (From Health)
Straw on trial over jury reform (From UK Politics)
Tatchell calls for rights probe into Mugabe
Ex-spy stays out in the cold
Blair warns Livingstone (From UK Politics)
Smear equipment `misses cancers' (From Health)
Boyzone star gets in Christmas spirit (From Entertainment)
Fake bubbly warning
Murder jury hears dead girl's diary
Germ warfare fiasco revealed (From UK Politics)
Blair babe triggers tabloid frenzy
Tourists shot by mistake
A new look for News Online