31 Killed In Train Smash

Northern Advocate, 25 October 1947, Page 7

31 Killed In Train Smash

LONDON, Fri. (10 a.m.)—Thirty-one people have died following the collision of two electric trains near Ci'oydon, London. Of the 100 injured, 1)1 have been admitted to hospital. A train travelling from Tattenham Corner to London Bridge ran into the rear of a train going from Hayward’s Heath to London. The accident occurred between Purley Oaks and South Croydon. Wreckage blocked the lines. The first two coaches of the Tattenham Corner train were telescoped and 1 the two rear coaches of the other train were derailed. COLLIDED IN FOG The collision occurred in a fog. People in houses along the line tore up sheets to provide first aid, and 24 ambulances rushed the injured people to hospitals in Croydon. All the available railway engineering staff in the area were called to the rescue. The South Croydon and Purley Oaks stations v/ere turned into emergency casualty-posts. Many passengers, apparently uninjured were affected with shock after reaching their offices in London. An eye-witness of the collision said the train from Hayward’s Heath was probing very slowly through the fog toward South Croydon, when there was a blinding flash and ' a grinding explosion as the train from Tattenham Corner ran into the rear of the first train. j L . The last two coaches of the Hayward’s Heath train were thrown off the rails. CRIES FOR HELP ‘One hung crazily at an angle of 45 degrees over the railings on the edge of the embankment. The two leading coaches of. the Tottenham Corner train were splintered, smashed and telescoped. . There was complete silence; for ! i a moment. . Then, through. the fog, nearby residents heard cries for help. There were nine women among the dead. . ■’ One woman in the last Hayward’s Heath coach was flung under tl)e wheels of the other train. 'LL A passenger in one train heard people shouting through ‘the fog: “Mind the live - . Portions of bodies were scattered along the permanent way. 1