The number of people who were killed when a high-speed train hit a car in southeastern England on Saturday rose to seven Sunday, including the drivers of both the car and train.

 
The train, the First Great Western express, leaving London's Paddington at 17:35 GMT to Plymouth, was in collision with a car at around 18:15 GMT at an automatic barrier crossing at Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, some 65 km west of London.

Six bodies were removed from the wreckage Saturday night, and the seventh death was announced by the Royal Berkshire Hospital on Sunday evening.

The police refused to discuss whether the car driver was attempting suicide, according to a Sky News report.

Local media said an off-duty policeman saw the train hit a car on a level crossing near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire. He alerted the emergency services but did not have time to avert the tragedy in which all the eight carriages and two engines of the train left the track and scores of people were injured.

Det Chief Constable Andy Trotter of British Transport Police said the officer was driving along the lane when he saw a saloon car stationary on the crossing with the barriers up.

"The barrier then came down and the police officers went to the emergency telephone, but before he could get a response the train came through and hit the car on the crossing," he said.

He added that it was "quite remarkable so many people managed to escape from such an awful event."

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2004)