London: A deadly rear-end collision between two passenger trains Friday evening near Bedford, about 60 miles north of London, left one train driver dead and 89 people injured.
The crash happened around 5:15 p.m. when a train traveling from Corby to London St Pancras hit the back of a stationary Nottingham-to-London service. Emergency crews rushed to the scene south of Bedford, deploying more than 20 ambulances and six air ambulances in what became a major rescue operation, Reuters repor
ted.
According to the East of England Ambulance Service, one person died at the scene, 11 people suffered very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured, and 56 had minor injuries.
Photos and videos posted by passengers showed the front end of one train wedged into the rear of the other, with the carriages appearing to stay upright on the rails despite the collision.
“My thoughts are with the family of the person who has sadly lost their life, and with those who have been seriously injured,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
British Transport Police declared a major incident and launched an investigation to determine what caused the collision. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch sent inspectors to the site. Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a statement mourning the driver’s death and honoring injury victims.
All London St Pancras services were canceled Friday as crews worked to clear the wreckage.
Peter Knapp, a doctor who said on social media site Bluesky he was on board one of the trains, described a “sudden crash” with one carriage off the rails and said he had sustained minor injuries.