Britain's worst rail disaster in 11 years claimed at least 26 lives and injured up to 140 people yesterday when a mainline express train and a commuter train crashed in a near head-on collision and burst into flames two miles outside Paddington station in central London.
The bodies of an unknown number of passengers were still trapped in the mangled, smoke-blackened wreckage of the carriages last night as the London Fire Brigade began the painstaking task of bringing heavy lifting equipment to the scene to recover their bodies.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, who also has responsibility for transport, confirmed a full public inquiry would be held into the disaster, which has sparked memories of the Southall train crash in 1997 on the same stretch of track, and prompted claims that crucial safety lessons have not been learnt after years of underfunding of the rail network.
Separate and urgent inquiries by Railtrack (which owns the rail infrastructure), First Great Western Trains, Thames Trains and the Health and Safety Executive, were under way as the emergency services concluded the rescue of frightened and injured passengers from the wreckage of the 8.06 a.m. Paddington-Bedwyn train and the 6.03 a.m. Cheltenham-Paddington train.
The trains collided at 8.11 a.m. close to Ladbroke Grove in west London in Britain's worst rail disaster since the Clapham rail crash in 1988 which killed 35 people.
As the appalling scale of the disaster unfolded, Queen Elizabeth and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, sent their condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
In a statement, Mr Blair said: "I am absolutely appalled by what is a truly dreadful tragedy . . . All our thoughts are with those who have died and been injured and their families and friends."
The packed commuter trains collided at the height of the rush-hour shortly after the Paddington-Bedwyn train had left the station and was crossing a fast track bringing it into the path of the high speed train from Cheltenham. The trains crashed, sending carriages flying into the air and fire quickly spread through several train carriages.
One of the crucial tasks of the investigations into the crash will be to establish why the slower Paddington train crossed the track into the path of the Cheltenham train instead of being held or stopping at a red light.
The key may be found in signal 109 outside Paddington and whether the driver of the Thames Train passed through it, propelling him into the path of the oncoming train.
Questions will also be asked about the efficiency of rail warning systems on the main western line out of London, and whether the British government can justify the decision to implement a cost-efficient automatic protection scheme (ATP) only on selected routes, although the Paddington route was included in the scheme.
The previous Conservative government abandoned the ATP scheme because it was thought to be too expensive.
Survivors of the crash - 58 have serious injuries - were being treated at hospitals across London. Mr David Taylor (34), who was travelling on the Great Western Train, said: "It looks as if we went straight through the middle of the other train. God knows what's happened to the passengers in first class."