Ireland - Toddler hit by train

[John Ashworth]

Toddler hit by train at rail halt
Wednesday, 2 April 2008 17:01 UK

A two-year-old boy who sustained head injuries after being hit by a train near Bangor, County Down, is in a stable condition in hospital.

The accident happened as the train was leaving Seahill halt at Ballyrobert.

Ciaran Rogan from Translink said the driver had tried to stop the train before it hit the child. He comforted the boy until paramedics arrived.

The child is the son of a worker who lives at a Camphill care facility, which backs onto the tracks.

The child has been taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast, where he is being assessed.

Translink will investigate how the child got onto the track.

"Above all, our thoughts are with the boy and his family," Mr Rogan said.

He said the investigation is expected to focus on the gates and fencing along the railway cutting where the accident happened. The PSNI are also investigating.

There is a gated path used by rail staff which leads down the embankment at the rear of the health-care facility where the boy's mother works.

The train, the 1030 BST Bangor to Portadown service, was between 200 and 400m from the station and travelling at about 10mph when the accident happened, just before 1100 BST on Wednesday.

The Bangor rail line was closed for a time, but has now reopened.

BBC Page last updated at 16:01 GMT, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 17:01 UK