British police focus on road barriers in rail crash

Investigations into the rail crash in Britain that killed 13 people and injured 70 when a car careered into the path of a high…

Investigations into the rail crash in Britain that killed 13 people and injured 70 when a car careered into the path of a high-speed train were today focusing on inadequate motorway barriers.

Emergency services were this morning resuming their search of the wreckage for bodies after yesterday's accident near Selby in north Yorkshire.

Rescuers at the scene of yesterday's crash

The crash was believed to have been sparked by a burst tyre which sent a Land Rover towing a car on a trailer careering off the M62 and down an embankment, where it stopped on the East Coast main line.

Humberside police are concentrating inquiries on how the vehicle came to be on the railway line.

READ MORE

As the driver frantically called police on his mobile phone, the 4.45 a.m. Newcastle-to-London Great Northern and Eastern Rail train ploughed into the vehicle before smashing almost head-on into a freight train loaded with 1,000 tonnes of coal.

The combined speed was more than 150 m.p.h.

Emergency services arrived on the scene of the 6.12 a.m. crash to find appalling conditions as trapped passengers screamed for help and smashed windows to escape the carnage.

The final survivor was taken from the wreckage at 1 p.m. but with the search for bodies continuing police warned the death toll could rise.

Rescue services sifting through the crash wreckage last night suspended their efforts until this morning.

GNER confirmed the train's engine in yesterday's incident was the same one involved in the Hatfield crash in October last year.

PA