Six people have died and many more were injured when a high-speed train hit a car on a level crossing in Britain this evening.
An ambulance service spokesman said that 11 people were seriously injured, and a further 25 were less seriously hurt.
The First Great Western service from Paddington to Plymouth ploughed into the car on the automatic crossing in a village near Reading.
Dozens of fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the scene at Ufton Nervet as injured passengers were dragged from the wreckage.
Thames Valley police said that at least nine carriages had been derailed. Many people had been injured, and a significant number of passengers were trapped.
"There have been fatalities, exact numbers are not known at this time," a spokeswoman said.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: "At 1810, we received a report that the 1735 Paddington to Plymouth had struck a vehicle on a level crossing at Ufton Nervet near the Winning Hand public house, on the level crossing at Ufton Nervet."
A spokesman for First Great Western said details of what happened were still "sketchy".
A Network Rail spokesman said the accident happened at an automatic level crossing with half barriers on each side of the road.
PA