Force leader on derailed train: "Could have gone much worse"
8/7/2023, 6:14:11 PM
Highlights: The accident happened about a kilometre from the nearest road. Emergency services had to use a vehicle and a quad bike to get people out. The last to be evacuated were the train crew. The accident could have been much worse if the slope had not been stopped, says the force leader of the rescue operation, Martin Eriksson. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. For more information on the rescue mission, visit: http://www.nhs.uk/news/local/news-recovery/stories/stories-from-the-scene-of-a-train-accident-in-Sweden-that-left-two-injured-and-one-dead.
The train derailment ended with only two slightly injured people. But force leader Martin Eriksson believes that it could have been a much worse accident. "The wagons could have rolled down the slope," he says.
It was Norrhälsinge rescue service that was tasked with evacuating train passengers and crew. The accident happened about a kilometre from the nearest road, so the emergency services had to use a tracked vehicle and a quad bike.
The last part of the road is heavily flooded, but some of the passengers chose to wade across the water. The last to be evacuated were the train crew.
Martin Eriksson sees a risk that the wagons can slide down the slope even after the evacuation.
"If the embankment disappears even more, it could happen," he says.
Hear Martin Eriksson and see pictures of the leaning train cars in the clip above.