One dead and 11 very seriously injured in Bedford train crash | BBC News

Hello, I'm Sarah Campbell.

One person has died and several others have been injured after two trains collided near Bedford.It happened during rush hour with footage from the scene showing bloodied passengers being evacuated onto the railway.These are the latest pictures we are getting from passengers who were on the train.A major incident has been declared with firefighters, police and ambulance crews still at the scene.The services that collided were the 1640 from Corby to London St Pancras and the 1550 from Nottingham to London St Pancras.Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his thoughts are with the family of the person who's died and that he's grateful to the emergency services for their swift response.

Here is the full statement from British Transport Police.Officers are continuing to respond to a collision between two trains on the line in Bedford following reports around 5 .15pm today.It then goes on to say we know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died.Finally it adds 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.Let's go back now to our reporter Alex Pope who is at the scene and has been for several hours now Alex and just take us through the operation as you've seen it.

Yes, so basically this area has been an absolute hive of activity this afternoon with basically the walking wounded coming off the train from just up there.So it's basically a massive railway line that runs pretty much from Nottingham into London.So there were people joining the train from places like Kettering, Wellingborough.And what I was seeing was people coming off that train with suitcases dressed up for the evening out going into town.shocked but relieved that they were okay.So they were actually then being sent here in this area just outside of Kempston Hardwick to go onwards to where they needed to go.

We had people confused, they didn't know the way they were.We were obviously having tourists.I heard people with different accents, but I also heard people praising the emergency services for helping because we've seen police vehicles, we've seen ambulances, we've seen helicopters flying overhead, we've had network rail here, we've had buses ferrying people out of the area, so it's quiet and it is a lot quieter now, but obviously people relieved as they came off in shock, but obviously saddened because people had been injured and obviously as we now know one fatality.

Indeed, and you've been telling us about the extent of the emergency response, but also of the help from the local community coming to support these people, many of whom were stranded and wondering what on earth they were going to do now.

Yes, I mean, we're not quite in the middle of nowhere, but we aren't in an area that there are shops or places nearby.There is a business, but it is shut just opposite there.And they're in an area that they don't know.I mean, people will not know this area.So they were being dropped off and you could hear them trying to get a taxi or call their family members to come and get them.And I actually saw, looked like one mother just hugging her daughter, who sadly was quite seriously injured, but was able to walk and being taken home and obviously relieved that she was able to pick her family member up.

Alex Pope, at the scene, thank you so much for bringing us the very latest.In the last hour, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, says that his thoughts are with the family of the person who's died in the two -train collision.He wrote on social media describinghugely concerning reports of a collision involving two passenger trains near Bedford.First and foremost my thoughts are with the family of the person who has sadly lost their life and with those who've been seriously injured.Finally the Prime Minister says I am grateful to the emergency services for their swift response to this tragic incident.

And let's take you to these pictures that have come into the BBC, showing the inside of the train, showing some injured passengers, and just that's in the immediate aftermath.Now, Brett Byatt is an eyewitness.He was on board the train, and he spoke to me about his response to the crash and what he saw.

Physically, I'm absolutely fine, but obviously, like, mentally, I'm a bit shaken.

If you can, Can you tell me what happened, what you saw?

Yeah, so it was the ten past five train to St Pancras.I was coming from Bedford and I got on the carriage and I stood, like men typically do, by the doors and I was by the first glass panel and I was just leant up against that and we probably left Bedford for what may have felt for five minutes and there was a I knew something was up because the train never slows down from Bedford to Luton.And I felt it break.And it was gradual.And as soon as I reacted, like, huh, then it was like a boom smash.And everyone that was sat down went flying into one another.

I was bumped.Like, I thank God.I'm completely uninjured.My phone went flying and then I looked and it was just like shrieks and groans of pain and shock.And I also think that I am first aid trained because I'm a teacher.So I just like sprung into that mode of looking around at everyone and assessing like the injuries.

And there was a woman in front of me that had completely snapped her leg.And there was a woman behind her.They were sort of on top of each other.She couldn't move because of her back.There was a guy further down the carriage that couldn't move his neck.He was laid on the floor, and people were holding him still.

There was seriously deep gashes.I keep saying to my friends, luckily I was wearing a vest because I had to take my top off.and compress an old lady's wound on her head and I was like going around and getting people's like spare shirts to sort of bandage it and just make sure everyone was conscious and okay and just assessing the situation and I opened the doors with the emergency handle I was letting people on and off and yeah and then the emergency services turned up in their droves I've never seen so many emergency services there were hundreds of ambulance workers, of police, of firefighters.There was four air ambulances and they made us drop down the uninjured.Once the ambulances were, the first aiders were here, we all dropped down, went across the field and that's when they started to triage the uninjured and the ones that could walk but are injured.of on the left and the right and then slowly they started to like process everyone.

But yeah, it looked like it was a four carriage that I was in, the fast train, and it looked, the only theory I have is that there was a signal fault or something because the train must have been stopped and we crashed into them.I can't think of another explanation but yeah, that It's hard to condense everything that happened into a short statement, but it was horrific.But it was me, in a full carriage, it was me and two other people that were uninjured, just going around triaging people and treating them and consoling them, because people were obviously, rightly so, freaking out, passing out.

That was Brett Byatt who was on the train.I want to bring you some breaking news.We've had a statement from the East of England Ambulance Service with an update on the number of injuries as far as they are aware.They've said that the collision between the two passenger trains near Bedford has left 11 people with very serious injuries.22 seriously injured and 56 with minor injuries that according to the East of England Ambulance Service and of course we already know that one person has very sadly died but just to repeat those numbers 11 people with very serious injuries and 22 seriously injured and 56 with minor injuries.That does really give you a sense of the huge numbers of people involved in this incident.

Now the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has posted on social media about this writing on X. She said that she was deeply saddened to hear that one person has died and a number of people injured in the awfulcollision near Bedford.She said, our thoughts are with their loved ones and everyone affected, and that emergency services remain on the scene.Well, let's speak to our correspondent, Normia Iqbal, who is at London's St Pancras station for us.Normia, both of those trains were due to arrive at St Pancras.

Hi Sarah.Yes, so this was the destination for the train coming into St Pancras.I think it's just gone 10 past 10 here in the evening.This is incredibly busy.It's a Friday night.It usually is.

But Alex mentioned earlier, our colleague from Bedford, that there were tourists on there.So this is a major international hub.transport hub, but it's also obviously a major hub for domestic travel.And the trains involved, just to recap, were the 440 from Corby to London St Pancras, and then also the 350 from Nottingham to London St Pancras.And just to give you a sense of how busy it gets here for EMR, I think more than 100 trains operate for EMR from St Pancras every day up to like five trains per hour.And so all of that has now been cancelled.

So only when you go inside that you learn that.The departure boards, all the entries are read for EMR, which tell the story of exactly what's happened.I went inside and I spoke to people who were there and to find out if they had planned to travel or if they know anyone that that that was on the train all that those both trains but uh they uh i think people have have left becauseof the crash as we know happened a lot earlier.Officials don't really know what's going on in terms of exactly what caused the collision so there's not a lot of information there but the only concrete information of course that we do have is anyone that is planning to travel it's not going to happen the passengers are being basically delayed and diverted well into the evening we're not quite sure what it will be like in the morning but for tonight very much those trains are cancelled.

OK, Nomia Iqbal at St Pancras station, a very busy St Pancras station.We will leave it there.Thank you.The two main hospitals in the area have posted on social media to say that their medics are helping passengers injured in the train crash.So Bedford Hospital and the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital have asked the public to avoid attending their emergency departments unless they have a genuine emergency.an idea there as to the pressure that's been put on the local health services as a result of this incident.

And I'll just remind you to give you a sense of the extent of the injuries that we know that the East of England Ambulance Service released in the last few moments.They said that obviously one person has been killed, but 11 people left with very serious injuries, 22 seriously injured and 56 with minor injuries.Richard Fuller is the Conservative MP for North Bedfordshire and he's been talking me through what he's been hearing and seeing at Bedford station.

I'm here at Bedford station which is a couple of hours ago was full of people not knowing what the situation was wanted to get into London wanted to go further north and as you would be able to see if I pan around right now it's very quiet so the first thing has been the excellent response of the Thameslink staff here at Bedford station to make sure that people knew what the situation was and got peopleto where they could get to, so they could then continue their journey, whether it's going north or south.And mainly that's been to get people to Milton Keynes and to go on the train from Milton to Milton Keynes.There's also been issues here about, as your previous reporter was saying, about buses going to collect people at the site, both on the two East Midlands trains affected, but also on the Thameslink train that was stopped and caught from where they were concerned about overheating for the passengers.And I understand that people will now be taken from there to other destinations, then moved on to their place that they were trying to get to.But also, this is such an important incident.

It's on a day where people will be trying to get into London, trying to go on their holidays, perhaps on the weekend.A heavily trafficked train line, one of the most heavily commuted train lines as well.And this is a very significant incident.Our thoughts must go out to, first of all, to the driver of the train that collided at speed and also to everyone on that train and their loved ones.

Well indeed.We were speaking to our reporter Alex Pope who'd managed to speak to some of the walking wounded, the people that were able to get off the train.Of course the concern is the number of people that perhaps we haven't been able to speak to because they may have been more seriously injured.We've heard from the Health Secretary James Murray saying a number of people have been injured.This is clearly a very serious incident.

It is a serious incident.It's also, as earlier on, it's quite a rare incident.Railway lines in the UK are very safe railway lines.But this is a serious incident.And our local hospitals, both here in Bedford, also in Luton, will be now looking after a large number of people who are on those trains.And that's why it's important, if you live in the Bedford area and you think you might need to go to A &E, do go if you need to.

But just think twice about the fact that the staff there atwill be working very, very hard indeed to look after people who have been hurt and injured in this incident.

I think perhaps a word for what you've seen of the emergency response to the incident, you know, clearly doing their very best to get a large number of people to safety.

Yeah, we have an outstanding police fire service and a great air ambulance and ambulance service.

That was Richard Fuller, the MP for North Bedfordshire.We will bring you any latest news following the collision of two trains in Bedfordshire, which we know now has injured 89 people and killed one person.