Dean
January 30th, 2003, 20:41
Hotline: 1800 227 228
At least eight people were killed and another 15 were seriously injured when a peak-hour commuter train derailed on Sydney's southern outskirts on Friday.
The southbound train, with about 80 people on board, derailed four kilometres south of Waterfall Station about 7.30am (AEDT) on Friday.
Four carriages left the tracks and another two tipped over, trapping dozens of passengers.
Police and rescue crews were forced to cut their way into the train to reach the trapped and injured.
Acting NSW Police Commissioner Dave Madden confirmed at least eight people had died in the accident, but said no details on the age or gender of the victims was yet available.
He likened the incident to a "high-impact car crash" and said the scene was quite devastating, with some of the deceased lying beside the track.
The derailment occurred on a stretch of track running through the Royal National Park.
The line is flanked by dense bushland and at the scene of the crash runs through a steep rocky embankment, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the site.
The NSW government immediately announced a full judicial inquiry into the crash.
NRMA Care Flight director Ian Badham said the injured were being airlifted or taken by ambulance to hospitals in the region, including the Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick and the St George Hospital.
NSW Fire Brigades spokesman Superintendent Ian Krimmer said rescuers had to carry heavy cutting equipment 1.5kms along the railway track to the crash site.
He said passengers remained trapped inside the wrecked carriages, some pinned behind pillars and seats.
"It still is a very difficult operation to get in there and do a full check of just what has happened inside the carriages," he said.
But he said emergency services had learned valuable lessons from the Glenbrook train disaster in the Blue Mountains in 1999, when seven died.
The judicial inquiry announced by the NSW government into the crash will be headed by Justice Peter McInerney, who led the investigation into the Glenbrook tragedy.
Speaking from the scene, Premier Bob Carr said his thoughts were with the families of those killed.
"There's nothing more tragic to contemplate, than people going about their business, going to work ... and then encountering the horrifically unexpected," Mr Carr said.
Prime Minister John Howard also extended his sympathy to the victims and their families.
"I am absolutely dismayed and very saddened by what appears to be a quite terrible accident," Mr Howard told ABC radio.
"I can only express my sorrow and dismay and sympathy for those who've lost people and a sense of anxiety about those who are still trapped and those who've been injured."
Passenger Arnouska Zehalko, 21, who called her parents from the train wreck shortly after the derailment, said there were bodies everywhere.
Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_45494.asp
Used without permission
At least eight people were killed and another 15 were seriously injured when a peak-hour commuter train derailed on Sydney's southern outskirts on Friday.
The southbound train, with about 80 people on board, derailed four kilometres south of Waterfall Station about 7.30am (AEDT) on Friday.
Four carriages left the tracks and another two tipped over, trapping dozens of passengers.
Police and rescue crews were forced to cut their way into the train to reach the trapped and injured.
Acting NSW Police Commissioner Dave Madden confirmed at least eight people had died in the accident, but said no details on the age or gender of the victims was yet available.
He likened the incident to a "high-impact car crash" and said the scene was quite devastating, with some of the deceased lying beside the track.
The derailment occurred on a stretch of track running through the Royal National Park.
The line is flanked by dense bushland and at the scene of the crash runs through a steep rocky embankment, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the site.
The NSW government immediately announced a full judicial inquiry into the crash.
NRMA Care Flight director Ian Badham said the injured were being airlifted or taken by ambulance to hospitals in the region, including the Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick and the St George Hospital.
NSW Fire Brigades spokesman Superintendent Ian Krimmer said rescuers had to carry heavy cutting equipment 1.5kms along the railway track to the crash site.
He said passengers remained trapped inside the wrecked carriages, some pinned behind pillars and seats.
"It still is a very difficult operation to get in there and do a full check of just what has happened inside the carriages," he said.
But he said emergency services had learned valuable lessons from the Glenbrook train disaster in the Blue Mountains in 1999, when seven died.
The judicial inquiry announced by the NSW government into the crash will be headed by Justice Peter McInerney, who led the investigation into the Glenbrook tragedy.
Speaking from the scene, Premier Bob Carr said his thoughts were with the families of those killed.
"There's nothing more tragic to contemplate, than people going about their business, going to work ... and then encountering the horrifically unexpected," Mr Carr said.
Prime Minister John Howard also extended his sympathy to the victims and their families.
"I am absolutely dismayed and very saddened by what appears to be a quite terrible accident," Mr Howard told ABC radio.
"I can only express my sorrow and dismay and sympathy for those who've lost people and a sense of anxiety about those who are still trapped and those who've been injured."
Passenger Arnouska Zehalko, 21, who called her parents from the train wreck shortly after the derailment, said there were bodies everywhere.
Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_45494.asp
Used without permission