(The following report appeared on Australia’s Courier-Mail website on June 6.)
KARANG, Australia — Police have reduced the official death toll of the train crash in northern Victoria yesterday from 11 to 10.
A police spokesman said the death toll was revised after the police victim identification unit assessed the situation.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks urged people not to jump to conclusions about the cause of the crash.
Another 23 people were injured when a truck and Melbourne-bound passenger train collided at a level crossing near Kerang in northern Victoria. Two people are still unaccounted for.
Mr Bracks inspected the wreckage last night, and today reiterated that the tragedy would be thoroughly investigated.
“It’ll be thorough, it’ll be complete, it’ll be a full inquiry and this tragedy deserves nothing less and to learn lessons from it,” Mr Bracks said.
The safety of level crossings in Victoria has come under scrutiny after a spate of recent deaths.
But Mr Bracks said it was unlikely any modifications to the Murray Valley highway crossing could have prevented yesterday’s carnage.
“What needs to be determined is if any treatment at all would have prevented that accident. I think anyone who was there would probably say it is very unlikely that any treatment at all would have prevented it,” he said.
“That will have to be determined properly and effectively, so rather than jumping to conclusions at this stage I think we are honour-bound to do properly and rationally the examination of what happened so that we can have that advice to government as soon as possible.”
Mr Bracks said the crossing was upgraded in 1968 with lights and warning sirens and that both were working when the accident occurred.
Initial investigations showed the truck skidded to try to avoid the train, he said.
Mr Bracks said he was moved by the tragedy.
“I thought it was horrific … I haven’t seen anything like that in my life and I don’t think many people in Victoria would have seen such a sight.
“It was catastrophic, the mangling of the three carriage set, particularly the middle carriage which had most of the people … the truck which was hardly recognisable.
“It’s hard to imagine how someone could have survived driving that truck.”
Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said there would be no knee-jerk response.
“We really do need to wait for the results of the investigation,” she said.
“At every level crossing there are different circumstances, different features of the road and the crossing and where there are accidents we really need to take into account the local conditions and to find out what really happened. “