Passenger train derails in Israel

A passenger train has derailed in Israel, injuring about 150 people, rescue services say.

It is feared that some people may be trapped in the wreckage of the train, which derailed after hitting a lorry near the coastal city of Netanya.

“There was a jolt and the carriage went dusty and dark - and then it jolted again and the train stopped,” one passenger, Naomi Lynch, told the BBC.

The train was travelling from Tel Aviv to the port city of Haifa.

Ambulances and helicopters are at the scene.

‘No foul play’

At least two carriages overturned as a result of the collision, officials say.

Yonatan Yagodovsry, Israel’s medical services official, told the BBC that up to five people could be still trapped in the wreckage.

Television footage showed the overturned carriages and medics carrying out injured people on stretchers.

“I was thrown forward but not out of my seat,” Ms Lynch, who was travelling in the carriage second from the end, told the BBC.

“People started climbing out of the broken windows and through the doors. And then that’s when we saw that the carriage in front of us was up in the air,” Ms Lynch, from Brighton, Britain, said.

“There’s the carriage on its side and another carriage on top of it.

“But there was nothing from the carriage in front of us - there was no screaming - nothing,” she said.

Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said: “There was a lorry on the rails at the junction and the train hit the lorry. As a result of the impact, the first two carriages went off the rails.

“We are dealing with a large number of casualties at the moment.”

Eyewitnesses say the lorry was at a standstill on the rail tracks at the level crossing and that the train driver was unable to stop in time to avoid the accident.

Israeli authorities say they believe it was an accident, and no foul play is suspected.

BBC