Passenger train derails and overturns in southern England

A passenger train derailed and overturned three of its carriages in southern England on Thursday, leaving two people with serious injuries and nine others with minor wounds. Emergency services responded swiftly to the incident, which occurred outside the coastal town of Lewes.

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In this phase, we can confirm that two patients have suffered serious injuries and that nine others have minor injuries.

Around 150 passengers were traveling on the Southern Rail train, which had departed from London Victoria station en route to Eastbourne. Aerial footage showed emergency personnel attending to passengers in a field adjacent to the derailed train, with multiple ambulances and three helicopters on standby. Social media images depicted passengers from the affected carriages sitting with their feet up on the carriage walls.

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I am deeply concerned by the reports of a derailment involving a Southern train. Grateful to the emergency services who are on site supporting those affected.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed deep concern over the derailment and thanked the emergency services for their on-site support. The incident led to the closure of all lines passing through the station, preventing trains from operating in the area while emergency services managed the scene.

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Everything flew forward. My laptop, my AirPods, our bags. The train kind of slid for quite a while before stopping and only then, when we looked around, we saw that the whole back of the train, literally where we were sitting, was open and smoke and dust were pouring into the carriage.

Passenger Rob Bradley described a terrifying experience, recounting how the train began to sway violently before derailing. He stated that his belongings were thrown forward, and upon looking back, he saw the rear of the train, where he had been seated, was open with smoke and dust pouring in. He observed at least two carriages lying on their side, with emergency workers and others standing on the overturned train.

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The train kind of slid for quite a while before stopping and only then, when we looked around, we saw that the whole back of the train, literally where we were sitting, was open and smoke and dust were pouring into the carriage.