May 11, 2002	Saturday	Safar 27, 1423

LONDON, May 10: At least six people were killed and 60 others injured after a passenger train derailed as it was speeding through a station in London on Friday afternoon.

Fifteen of the injured were in critical condition while most of the others were said to be walking wounded.

Police confirmed that at least six people were dead after the four-carriage train came off the rails just before 1pm and at least one of the carriages smashed into a platform and ended up jammed under the station canopy.

The front portion of the train is said to be about half-a-mile north of the station.

The accident took place at a point not far from Hatfield, where another deadly train accident occurred in Oct 2000.

It was the latest tragedy in a series to hit the trains in Britain, over the past few years, killing a large number of people. Following these accidents the government came a lot of pressure and had to allocate huge amount of money to modernise the world’s oldest train network, parts of which are a shambles.

Agencies add: Witnesses spoke of shock, horror and death following the high-speed derailment just north of London.

Fitness instructor Andy Perversi, 21, was on the platform waiting for a train at the time. He said one of the victims died in his arms.

“After the accident, I went on to the track to help one unconscious woman,” a visibly shocked Perversi told Reuters.

“I was stroking her hair, her arms, but after about five minutes her pulse stopped,” he said of the woman who died of head and neck injuries.

He initially ran for his life after one of the train’s carriages hit the platform, then came back to help after escaping unharmed.

“I heard a bang and saw the train mount the platform. After that, there was screaming and chaos everywhere,” he said.

“There were guys in ties and suits walking around in shock with their hands on their heads. There was blood everywhere. It was terrible.”

Railtrack, the national rail network operator, said it believed the train was travelling at high speed when it jumped the tracks.—Reuters