Victoria Train Tragedy

[Leonn]

GRIEVING relatives gathered at the scene of the Kerang train disaster today as rescuers removed the bodies of the last of the 11 victims from the mangled wreckage.

 

 

 

Disaster victim identification squad members had by tonight completed the terrible task of removing bodies from the V/Line passenger train, which collided with a semi-trailer on a level crossing in northern Victoria yesterday.

 

 

 

As investigations into the disaster got under way, a witness told of pulling the truck driver from his wrecked rig and the injured man saying: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

 

 

 

Five survivors from the crash remained in Melbourne hospitals tonight, including a 15-year-old girl, three men in their 40s and a young woman. Most were stable.

 

 

 

Otherwise all those on yesterday's ill-fated Swan Hill to Melbourne service had been accounted for.

 

 

 

It could take days to identify all the victims and months before investigations were complete, authorities warned.

 

 

 

"There was a person who died in a Melbourne hospital and 10 bodies were recovered at the wreck site," Senior Constable Wayne Wilson said.

 

 

 

Among those who died was a 32-year-old man from Wellington in New Zealand.

 

 

 

Also killed were a 13-year-old boy and an elderly woman, both from Swan Hill, relatives of whom made an emotional visit to the accident site today, accompanied by emergency workers and grief counsellors.

 

 

 

Some sat alone with their thoughts on a grass verge near the mangled carriages, while others quietly stood with heads bowed.

 

 

 

"We thought it was a good idea for closure, for them to see what actually happened," said Acting Inspector Mick Talbot, of the Major Collision Investigation Unit (MCIU).

 

 

 

State Emergency Service (SES) spokesman Allan Briggs said all salvage operations ceased as the distraught family members were shown the accident site and told what had happened.

 

 

 

"It gave the families time to grieve, just to take in and comprehend what had actually happened here yesterday," he told ABC radio.

 

 

 

Victorian Transport Minister Lyn Kosky added: "It will be an extraordinary tough day for the family and friends of those who are deceased.

 

 

 

"They will need a lot of support and there will be a lot of grief."

 

 

 

Mr Briggs said recovering the bodies was dangerous because of the sharp protruding metal in the second of the three carriages involved, the side of which was torn off by the impact.

 

 

 

"The carriage looks like a bomb has actually gone off inside it."

 

 

 

Acting Inspector Talbot said "tremendous devastation" had been caused to the second carriage.

 

 

 

"It's just twisted metal, bodies and destroyed seats everywhere ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ it's a scene of just utter bedlam," he said to ABC radio.

 

 

 

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said it would take some time for investigators to determine the exact cause of the accident.

 

 

 

"It's a major incident for Victoria and one that we feel very sorry for the families who have both family members killed and perhaps some others seriously injured."

 

 

 

The truck driver, who survived the crash but tonight remained in a serious condition in hospital, was 49-year-old veteran truckie and father of two Christian Scholl, employed by Wangaratta-based company Canny Carrying Company.

 

 

 

Swan Hill resident Brian Frichot was one of the first on the scene and he pulled Mr Scholl from his wrecked cab.

 

 

 

"He asked if he could ring his wife," Mr Frichot told The Age.

 

 

 

"I remember him saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry'. I said 'you'll be right mate, hang in there'."

 

 

 

Mr Frichot said the truck driver may not have seen the train until late and said he had had trouble with the road himself.

 

 

 

Acting Inspector Talbot said police had already spoken to Mr Scholl, who had given investigators an idea of what occurred.

 

 

 

"He's extremely fortunate, if you look at the amount of damage to the cabin of the truck," he said to ABC radio.

 

 

 

"I wouldn't believe that the impact of what's occurred would have sunk into him at this stage."

 

 

 

Premier Steve Bracks urged Victorians not to jump to conclusions about the cause the accident, which will be the subject of three investigations.

 

 

 

But he said it was unlikely any modifications to the Murray Valley Highway crossing could have prevented yesterday's carnage.

 

 

 

"What needs to be determined is if any treatment at all would have prevented that accident," Mr Bracks said.

 

 

 

Mr Frichot said the scene of the accident was "like a war zone".

 

 

 

"It's pretty horrific, there were bits and pieces of luggage, glass and parts of the train, items of clothing, telephones ringing everywhere," he told the Seven Network.

 

 

 

Survivor Lenley Fraser told reporters she heard a "big bang", and her carriage filled with dust and debris.

 

 

 

"I saw the lady sitting across from me had facial wounds and another lady was thrown to the floor with blood coming out of her mouth and eye," Ms Fraser said.

 

 

 

Once all the bodies were removed today, salvage operators began the job of removing the three train carriages and locomotive from the line, so rail services can resume

 

 

 

 

R.I.P to the people who died. Get well to the people who were injured

 

 

 

Leonn

[warri0r45]

Yeah, too true. I can't personally remember such an accident with so many deaths happening in my lifetime. R.I.P to the unlucky ones. Get better to the lucky ones.

[IGoddessI]

I saw that on the news today :( poor people...

 

 

 

I'm not going to jump to any conclusions yet there's nothing to say the truck driver didn't have something go wrong or his breaks failed or anything at the wheel at the time...

 

 

 

Just going to play it by ear until more details are revealed.