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Two trains collided north of London on Friday, killing a driver and seriously injuring dozens of people on board.
Both trains were travelling south to London St. Pancras station when they collided outside the town of Bedford at about 5:15 p.m., according to information on rail tracking websites. A passenger described being thrown forward by the impact before seeing fellow travellers with broken bones and bloody injuries.
Emergency services deployed several resources to the scene, including an air ambulance and a hazardous-area response team from the East of England Ambulance Service.
“We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died,” police said in a statement. “A major incident has been declared, and officers are continuing to respond at the scene alongside colleagues from Bedfordshire Police and the local Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Services.”
The East of England Ambulance Service later said that 11 people had very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and 56 had minor injuries.
Police and Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said the person who died was a train driver.
Peter Knapp, a passenger on the rear train, said the collision occurred without warning.
“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke,” Knapp said. “People were crying, screaming. People were so scared and confused.”
“I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs,” he added. “And then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”
Photos and videos posted on social media showed dozens of people, some wearing bandages but many apparently uninjured, standing and sitting among emergency vehicles parked on a road parallel to the tracks.
The RMT union, which represents many railway workers, said it was monitoring the situation and expressed concern over reports of “serious injuries” to train staff and passengers.
East Midlands Railway said the 4:40 p.m. train from Corby to St. Pancras had collided with the 3:50 p.m. train from Nottingham to the same station.
The company said it had cancelled all trains to and from St. Pancras for the rest of Friday and could not confirm Saturday’s schedule.