Daijiworld Media Network - London

London, Jun 20: At least one person was killed and several others injured after two passenger trains collided north of London on Friday evening, triggering a major emergency response.

The collision occurred near Bedford at around 5.15 pm local time when both trains, travelling towards London St Pancras station, crashed into each other, according to rail tracking information.

Emergency teams rushed to the site, deploying multiple resources including an air ambulance and a hazardous incident 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.

Authorities declared a major incident, with officers working alongside Bedfordshire Police, fire and rescue teams, and ambulance services at the scene.

Passenger Peter Knapp, who was travelling in the rear train, said the collision happened without warning. He described being thrown forward by the impact before seeing passengers suffering serious injuries.

“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming. People were so scared and confused,” Knapp said.

He added that several passengers appeared to have broken legs and some were unable to speak. He managed to escape through a gap in the train doors.

Images and videos shared on social media showed emergency vehicles near the railway tracks, with several passengers standing or sitting nearby. Some had bandages, while others appeared unharmed.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said it was monitoring the situation and expressed concern over reports of serious injuries involving passengers and railway staff.

East Midlands Railway confirmed that the 4.40 pm service from Corby to St Pancras was involved in the collision with the 3.50 pm train from Nottingham to the same destination.

The railway operator cancelled all trains to and from St Pancras for the remainder of Friday and said it was unable to confirm the service schedule for Saturday.