Fatal train crash victim 'died from heart attack after surviving horror crash'

Locals described the tragedy on Monday night in Powys as a 'terrible shock', with one couple hearing a 'loud bang' and 'grinding noises' as they sat down for their evening meal

A man who died following a train crash had survived the impact but suffered a fatal heart attack at the scene, according to locals.

The tragic victim had been a passenger on a train from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth which collided with another train from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury on Monday night. Another 15 people who were injured are being checked over in hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

The crash happened near the village of Llanbrynmair, in Powys, at about 7.30pm. One villager said: “We were told by police that the man who died didn’t have any injuries and died from a suspected heart attack. It’s a terrible shock, we are all feeling relieved that none of the others have life-threatening injuries.”

A couple living close to the railway line in the village of Talerddig told how they heard a loud bang and a grinding noise as they sat down for their evening meal on Monday. Pater Carson, 67, said: “The noise lasted a few seconds, I’m partly deaf so it must have been very loud.

“We have a lot of military aircraft going over so at first I thought it was a plane in trouble. I now realise it was the sound of the trains hitting the brakes in the collision.”

Tesco fuel station worker Mr Carson lives in a cottage less than half a mile from the scene of the crash on the Cambrian line that cuts across Mid-Wales. He said: “We knew it was very serious by the number of emergency vehicles that turned up within minutes. They’re police, ambulance and fire engines and three helicopters above. One landed in a field close to us.”

Mr Carson’s wife Karen, 66, added: “I’ve never seen so many emergency vehicles in one place. We were told someone has died and we are feeling for him and the families of the injured people.”

Plaid Cymru councillor Elwyn Vaughan said the single track that runs past the village gets clogged up with leaves, a potential cause of the accident. But he said: “I have been told that a dedicated leaf machine went through at lunchtime [on Monday] so that raises the question about what has happened here.

“People on the train have described a sliding sensation and there is a steep incline on that section of line. If you started to slide it would be difficult to stop. It’s a single track with a dedicated passing place, one train would pull in there to let the other one pass. Everyone in the village knows about the pull-in and there have never been safety concerns about it.”

Cllr Vaughan added: “It is a shock to the community. I was at home and heard the sirens and police cars going by so I knew it was something substantial. The turn out by the emergency services was substantial and impressive.”

The two trains could be seen, through trees and farmland, still upright on the main line between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth. The Cambrian Line is seen as a vital link cutting across Mid-Wales and connecting the Midlands to the West Wales coast.