ALW/London train crash kills five, injured 80

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ALW/London train crash Tuesday, 17 October 2000 9:13 (ET)

ALW/London train crash By AL WEBB

LONDON, Oct 17 (UPI) -- At least five people were killed and another 80 injured Tuesday when a high-speed passenger train careened off the tracks just north of London, police said.

Authorities said the Great North Eastern Rail train was 15 minutes into its journey and was traveling at about 115 mph when it derailed near Hatfield. No other train was involved in the crash.

Initial reports from Hertfordshire police said five people were reported dead and another 80 were described as "walking wounded." Recovery crews began digging through the rubble to try to locate more victims.

The train was the 12:10 p.m. GNER from London's Kings Cross station, destined for Leeds to the north.

Steve Morgan, one of the survivors, said the train had just left Kings Cross and was on the outskirts north of London when "there was a big bang, and everything went. The train went over on its side."

Morgan said he and others "managed to get out, get into the air." They tried to help others to climb from the debris. "There were babies crying. . . not very nice.

"I feel sorry for the people who died," he said. "It could have been any of us."

Exactly what caused the crash was not immediately clear, police said.

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=128437

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), October 17, 2000


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