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The number of people killed after a tram came off rails in south London has risen to seven.
Investigators from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said the tram had been negotiating a “sharp, left-hand curve with a speed limit of 12mph” when it tipped over.
It added: “The derailment occurred on the curve and initial indications suggest that the tram was travelling at a significantly higher speed than is permitted.”
The two-car vehicle crashed near the Sandilands tram stop, in east Croydon, shortly after 6am.
The driver was arrested after emergency services had to free several people who were trapped and took more than 50 to hospital.
Several of those had serious or life-threatening injuries.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the number of dead “may well increase” as he visited the site of the crash on Wednesday afternoon.
Later police confirmed the number of fatalities had risen from five to seven.
Mr Khan earlier said “foul play” had been ruled out, but the investigation into what caused it was ongoing.
Martin Bamford, 30, had been on the tram and remembered it “speeding up” before “everyone just literally went flying”.
Speaking from outside Croydon University Hospital, where he was treated for fractured or broken ribs, Mr Bamford said: “There was a woman that was on top of me…I don’t think she made it at all. She wasn’t responsive.
“There was blood everywhere.”
He said he had asked the driver what had happened, saying: “He said he thinks he blacked out.”
Croydon resident Hannah Collier, 23, said: “I heard a massive crash… then heard shouting, then the emergency services arrived.
“They started bringing up the casualties, some very seriously injured. People were carried away on stretchers.”
The derailment is understood to have occurred close to where the east-bound tram takes a sharp left turn as it starts to head north towards the Addiscombe stop.
Rail union ASLEF said it was essential that a full investigation takes place and there should be no “rush to place blame”.
The tram service was suspended between Reeves Corner and Addington Village/Harrington Road and police advised motorists to avoid the area around Addiscombe Road, where long tailbacks are being reported.
Prime Minister Theresa May said her “thoughts and prayers” were with those caught up in the “terrible incident”.
Courtesy of Sky News
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