Three dead after passenger train derails in Scotland

Three people, including the driver, have been pronounced dead at the scene after a passenger train derailed Wednesday in Scotland, Britain, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

Divisional Chief Superintendent for Scotland Eddie Wylie said: “This is a tragic incident…We remain on scene alongside our emergency service colleagues, and a major incident operation has been underway.”

“We will be working closely alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and the Office of Rail and Road to establish the full circumstances of how the train came to derail,” he said.

Wylie added that “all passengers have been accounted for”. Six people have been taken to hospital to be treated for injuries, which are not believed to be serious, according to a statement by the BTP.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described the derailment as an “extremely serious incident”.

The BBC reported earlier that smoke can be seen at the scene. About 30 emergency vehicles, including an air ambulance, are at the scene.

The BTP said its officers had been called to the scene in Aberdeenshire Wednesday morning, where the train has derailed.

“Officers were called to the scene at 9.43 a.m. (0843 GMT) and remain there alongside paramedics and the fire brigade,” it added.

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Local media said the incident took place at Carmont near Stonehaven as torrential rain and thunderstorms caused flooding and travel disruption across many parts of central and eastern Scotland.

Sturgeon said

the derailment had happened in “a very difficult location for emergency services to access.”

The BBC reported the train, travelling from Aberdeen to Glasgow, was made up of two locomotives and four carriages, and it is understood that the front locomotive and three passenger carriages have left the track and are now sitting on an embankment.

Network Rail Scotland, the company which looks after the rail infrastructure in Britain, said they were “working alongside the emergency services to respond to an incident involving a train near Stonehaven.”

“It is too early to confirm the exact nature and severity of the incident and more details will be made available once known,” said the company.

It revealed that the railway line between Aberdeen and Dundee was upgraded in a 9-million-pound (11.7 million-U.S. dollar) project last year.

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Source: Xinhua