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 | | Monday, 13 May, 2002, 07:58 GMT 08:58 UK A scene of devastation  The waiting room was demolished by flying debris Journalists allowed close to the Potters Bar crash scene for the first time on Friday evening witnessed a poignant scene. The train came to rest across two platforms with the front of the carriage lying next to a sign which said: "Welcome to Potters Bar". A metal fence, which had stood at the side of the track, was knocked off and hanging down over the road between two cars still under the bridge. Slightly further along the track, a solid metal barrier, perhaps around two feet high, had been hit with such force that it had broken and twisted away. Marks on rook At the end of the platform on the south side of the station, a bogey from underneath the train was lying on the side of the track next to the end of the platform, virtually parallel to the lines. From there, the carriage twisted on its side and slid along two platforms until it reached the station canopy where it became wedged. A waiting room on the far side of the station was been partially demolished by one end of the carriage. Marks on the roof of the carriage suggest it might even have rolled as it made its way along the platforms.
On Friday night, it was lying between platforms one and two at a grotesque 45 degree angle supported by props inserted by rescue workers. Sitting on a platform at the side of the train was a black wheelchair, thought to have been used by ambulance crews to remove some of the injured. Under the rail bridge, where one of the victims was found dead, there was also a picture of devastation. Large lumps of concrete and metal, dislodged by the train, had fallen from the bridge onto the road. Four cars remained under the bridge - a Vauxhall Corsa, with its roof and rear badly damaged, a Ford Escort which also had its roof, sides and rear badly damaged, an MG which appeared relatively unscathed and a Ford Mondeo which had its back window smashed. Engineers were working to support the bridge to prevent further collapse and the whole area was cordoned off. | |
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