Driver dies in gas tanker crash

The driver was breathing and conscious when paramedics arrived, and he feared the impact had caused a leak of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) when his truck crashed down on to the Weardale Railway near Wolsingham, Co Durham, shortly after 8am.

The emergency services placed a 100m exclusion zone around the crash site because of the possibility of the tanker exploding. The injured driver, who was thrown clear of the smash, was airlifted to Newcastle General Hospital where he was due to undergo surgery.

A Durham Police spokesman said: "Unfortunately, the driver of the gas tanker sadly died in hospital this lunchtime from the injuries that he sustained in the crash this morning. His family are being informed of the sad news."

The driver was in his early 20s and from the Darlington area.

Barbara and George Todd, who live near the bridge, said: "We did not hear anything but we could smell gas. A neighbour went down to help and saw the driver lying conscious on the line behind the cab. Because of the smell of gas he came straight back and alerted emergency services."

The lorry was making its way down a winding country road and careered through a brick wall and down on to the track just before a bridge over the River Wear. A tricky salvage operation was mounted to remove the lorry from the rural railway which operates daily through the summer.

It is operated as a joint venture by the ECT Group and Weardale Railway Trust as a working railway. No trains have been running today, and the operators said they would not be able to assess the damage until the lorry was removed. Services usually operate on the six-mile stretch between Wolsingham and Stanhope further up the valley.

Specialist equipment was brought in to drag the tanker along the track to Wolsingham station, where it will be easier to lift it onto the platform. The truck will be taken to a secure garage to allow accident investigators to examine it.

Meanwhile, the exclusion zone remained in place as a precaution, and 23 homes in and around the area were evacuated. Most residents were staying with friends, but some were put up at Wolsingham School and Community College. The Calor Gas tanker, a smaller version of a petrol tanker, was thought to have been carrying around 13,000 litres of Liquid Petroleum Gas. It was delivering fuel to rural homes and farms which use LPG as domestic fuel.