Seven people died in the Berkshire &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2002/06/26/31141.html ' target=_blank>train crash yesterday and a main rail line between London and southwest England will be closed for some days while UK police is investigating the accident.
The off-duty officer had seen a saloon car on the crossing and then watched as the barriers moved into the prevent-entry position with the vehicle still there.
The Thames Valley Police officer went to the emergency phone at the crossing to summon help – but the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/politics/2002/03/05/26797.html ' target=_blank>London to Plymouth First Great Western express train struck the car before he could get through.
The &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/fun/2001/09/01/13976.html ' target=_blank>car driver – a man – was one of seven people killed following last night’s accident at the automatic half barrier outside the village of Ufton Nervet near Reading, reports Scotsman.
"He was the only one of our patients who was in a life- threatening position," the hospital spokeswoman said. "We have got a remaining seven patients with minor injuries and four more serious but stable. They are not life-threatening."
Dozens of people were injured in the accident, Agence France- Presse reported, citing unidentified medics and John Divall, a spokesman for the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service. Sixty-one people were treated at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Sky News reported.
The train was travelling at about 100 miles an hour (160 kilometers) at the time of the incident, which is the deadliest involving a British train since seven people died in May 2002 in a derailment at Potter's Bar north of London, informs Bloomberg.
According to the Indian Express, Deputy Chief Constable Andy Trotter of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2001/05/18/5474.html ' target=_blank>British Transport Police said it was "remarkable" so many had escaped alive. "It is quite remarkable...if you look at the scene...that so many managed to escape from such an awful event," he said.
"Crime officers are now combing the site looking for evidence to find out what happened," Trotter said. He promised a "meticulous investigation" into the crash.
There was no indication that infrastructure failure or railway staff were responsible for the crash, in a country where rail safety has been a political issue since a series of deadly crashes followed the industry’s privatisation in the 1990s.
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