High-speed train hits car in UK: 6 killed

Rescue workers survey the wreckage of the First Great Western in Ufton Nervet yesterday, where six people died and 11 were seriously injured after the train collided with a car. Dozens more were treated for minor cuts and bruises and many were trapped in the wreckage after the train carrying 300 passengers ploughed into the car on the automatic crossing Saturday. PHOTO: AFP

The 1735 First Great Western service from Paddington to Plymouth was derailed near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire.

It comes two months after a railway inspectors' report warned of the dangers of level crossings. Investigators are considering whether the car was reversed deliberately on to the track, rail industry sources say.

The BBC's transport correspondent Tom Symonds said other possible reasons for the crash also will be investigated.

All eight carriages on the train came off the tracks in the accident, which happened between Newbury and Reading, said police.

The train, which was carrying approximately 300 passengers, was derailed at around 1815 GMT after hitting a car on an unmanned level crossing some 500 yards from the A4.

Det Chief Constable Andy Trotter of the British Transport Police described the scene as one of "great devastation".