Five injured after lorry crashes through bridge and onto train

Rescuers faced a difficult operation to remove the two from the precarious location. More than 40 others on the train had to wait several hours to reach safety.

The lorry crashed through a brick wall on a bridge above the line, landing on the roof of the third carriage from the back of the eight-carriage train near Oxshott station at 3.30pm. The lorry then fell onto the track under the bridge. The train travelled a short distance but remained upright.

Timi Raji, 18, a semi-professional footballer who was on the train with team-mates, said they heard desperate cries from a trapped passenger in the next carriage.

They rushed to go through an adjoining door when the train ground to a halt after a loud bang.

"The door was blocked but we could see someone was at the bottom of the carriage, trying to get out. The train had been crushed and the guy was trying to escape.

"He was on his stomach and we could only see his feet sticking out. My friends and I were trying to calm him down and talking to him. He was saying 'help, help'."

Mr Raji said the impact of the initial crash sparked immediate fears the train had been targeted by terrorists.

"All of a sudden we heard a bang and the lights were twitching, going on and off. No one knew what had happened. The train kept stopping.

"I thought it was a terrorist attack. A lot of people were panicking."

One passenger described on the internet networking site Twitter how he narrowly escaped injury. "Imagine, we was gonna sit on that carriage too," he added. "God blessed us survivors today."

A spokeswoman for South East Coast Ambulance Service said five people had been taken to three hospitals in the area. Two with serious injuries were taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting, London. One of these was last night believed to be the lorry driver. The other was thought to be a passenger with serious back injuries. Altogether 39 passengers were assessed but did not need further treatment.

Dozens of emergency services personnel were at the scene and the surrounding area was cordoned off leading to traffic chaos.

A South West Trains spokesman said: "Safety is our absolute priority and we will do everything in our power to assist the investigation into the accident."

A spokesman for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said an inquiry had begun.

Superintendent Philip Trendall of the British Transport Police, said: "There was substantial damage to the train, which remained upright during the accident, but we are not speculating at present as to the cause."

The bridge was assessed as safe in the nationwide checks made after the Selby rail disaster in February 2001 in which 10 men died. But last night, nearby residents called for improvements.

Ali Azigaran, a taxi driver who has lived in the area for 30 years, said: "You go round a corner and then there's a steep downhill bit on to the bridge – if you don't know the area I can see how you could just fall off.

"They need to put in some traffic signals and do something about safety on the bridge. Maybe this will make the council improve the road."

All of a sudden we heard a bang and the lights were twitching, going on and off.