A passenger aboard one of the trains involved in the devastating crash near Bedford has recounted the terrifying scenes he witnessed. Dr Pete Knapp described being hurled forwards when the collision occurred this afternoon, just south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6.
Recounting the shocking force of the impact to the BBC, he said: "When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere, I felt like I had been in a bomb explosion. When I got up, I saw people's bloodied faces, people's legs looked broken."
"There was smoke everywhere," he added.
In a separate interview with the Press Association, the 40-year-old recalled hearing people "crying, screaming" following the powerful impact between trains. He continued: "I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs, and then I managed to get out of the train and because I'm quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors."
He added: "My first thought was I needed to get out of the train just in case it was a terrorist explosion, I thought it was safer to get off the train."
The collision occurred at approximately 5.15pm on June 19. British Transport Police (BTP) have since confirmed that one person tragically lost their life, with dozens more sustaining injuries. The East of England Ambulance Service reported that 11 individuals suffered "very serious" injuries, while a further 22 sustained serious harm.
An additional 56 people received minor injuries and were treated either at the scene or in hospital. All passengers sustaining the most critical injuries have now been transported to hospital.
The two trains caught up in the incident were both East Midlands Railway (EMR) services, operating the 4.40pm departure from Corby and the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham, both bound for London St Pancras.
