M5 crash: police investigate rugby club fireworks display
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M5 crash: police investigate rugby club fireworks display
od yidiandiana Pon Nov 07, 2011 5:11 am
Detectives investigating one of Britain's worst motorway accidents are focusing on a theory that thick smoke from a rugby club fireworks display might have caused the tragedy.
The main police line of inquiry is that fireworks released on pitches alongside the M5 created a "bank" of smoke that reduced visibility to a few metres.
[img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/11/6/1320614111340/M5-crash-aftermath-007.jpg[/img]
Members of Avon and Somerset's major crime team have joined collision investigators to try to establish the cause of the crash near Taunton in Somerset which left seven dead and 51 injured.
Meanwhile, details of some of those who died began to emerge. [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com]cheap jerseys[/url]They include an elderly couple from south Wales who had been visiting relatives in Somerset, and a father and daughter from Berkshire who had been to a funeral. Three lorry drivers are also thought to have died in the tragedy.
During a press conference held on a motorway bridge close to the crash site, assistant chief constable Anthony Bangham confirmed that seven people lost their lives in the series of collisions involving 34 vehicles on Friday night.
He said the bodies had all been recovered and the inquiry was "moving firmly" into the investigative phase.
Bangham said: "Our main line of inquiry has now moved towards the event that was on the side of the carriageway."
A fireworks display was taking place at Taunton rugby football club's [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com/nfl-jerseys]nfl jerseys cheap[/url] Hyde Park ground. There was no bonfire, but police believe smoke from the fireworks could have drifted on to the motorway a few hundred metres away.
Bangham said there was fog in the area but witnesses told police there was "very significant smoke across the carriageway." This "caused a bank similar to a fog bank, which was very distracting and very difficult to drive through", he said. Asked if the display was too close to the M5, he said: "The display was certainly very close."
The rugby club has said previously that its display was over by 8.15pm – 10 minutes before the time of the accident. However people who were at the display said the smoke hung around the area.
"There was that acrid feel to the air you get after a firework display," said [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com/soccer-jerseys]wholesale soccer jerseys[/url]Tim Jones, from Taunton, who was at the club. "It didn't vanish, it hung around."
As Bangham was talking on the bridge, the rugby club was being cordoned off, and police were speaking to club officials. They were also planning to interview people who attended the display.
Bangham said detectives would look at who gave permission for the display [url=http://www.naty.us]naty[/url] and how it was organised. Channel 4 reported that the fireworks company hired by the rugby club insisted the wind had blown the smoke away from the motorway, and said the event would have been cancelled had smoke been drifting on to the M5.
Scene-of-crime experts were among the officers who spent Sunday combing through the debris. Bangham said they had worked "meticulously" to make sure that evidence was not lost. He also urged witnesses who had taken footage of the accident to hand it into the police rather than posting it on the internet.
A statement released by the rugby club said: "Taunton Rugby Club would like to take this opportunity to extend our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of those who have been affected by the tragic incident on the M5 motorway on Friday 4th November. As a family based [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com/nfl-jerseys-pittsburgh-steelers]steelers jerseys cheap[/url] community club Taunton RFC held a fireworks display on the evening of the 4th November. Taunton RFC is working closely with Avon and Somerset police to assist with their investigations."
The motorway, which had been closed in both directions, was fully reopened on Sunday night after the 60 metres of carriageway that had been damaged by fire was repaired.
Formal identification of the victims has yet to take place, but they are known to include an elderly couple, Tony and Pamela Adams, from Newport in south Wales, who had been visiting family in Taunton.
A tribute to the pair, issued on behalf of loved ones, said: "The family of Tony and Pam Adams are devastated and heartbroken at their untimely and tragic loss.
"Our thoughts are not only with our parents but also with all the other persons involved in this incident."
Neighbour and close friend Doreen Martin, 88, said: "It is so tragic. They were such lovely and caring people, devoted to each other and their family."
Prayers were said at their church, St Mark's, where the Rev Andrew Willie said: "The congregation was shocked and deeply saddened. We will remember Tony and Pam with love and affection."
Three lorry drivers who are believed to have been travelling in two separate trucks are also understood to be among those killed.
Two other victims are Michael Barton and his daughter Maggie, from Berkshire, [url=http://cheapnfljerseysfreeshipping.weebly.com]cheap jerseys[/url] who had been attending a funeral in the west country. His other daughter, Emma, was injured in the accident and is currently in hospital.
More witness reports of the dreadful driving conditions on the M5 that suddenly affected the M5 emerged.
Matt Craker, who was travelling from Devon to Gloucester with his wife, Michelle, and seven-year-old son, Freddie, said: "It was like someone turned out the lights. I have never seen anything like it. It was like a wall of pitch black fog. In my mind, it was either a total freak-of-nature weather condition, or it had to have been that there was some sort of smoke mixed with it.
"There was one car in front of us. Then all of sudden – bam – it was black.
"The car disappeared. I said to Michelle: 'It's like that car has vanished, how weird.' We might as well have been blindfolded. Next thing we knew we were smashed into the back of it."
Craker said they managed to scramble clear of their car just before it burst into flames. "It truly was complete and utter carnage. There were flames everywhere. We could hear people screaming, but we couldn't see them. The heat of the fire was immense. It was utterly horrific."
Ciara Neno, from Weston-super-Mare, said a "black fog" came down and a lorry in front of the car she was in "disappeared".
"We managed to brake and miss the lorry, but it was too late, the carnage had already started. All we heard was thump, thump, thump. My husband dragged people from the cars. The smell was horrendous and there were a number of explosions. We walked away, but other people weren't so lucky."
Tom Hamill, a 25-year-old teacher, who pulled a baby out of a car, described it like "driving into a tin of emulsion".
The tragedy is likely to renew the debate about motorway safety. It comes just weeks after the government announced plans to raise the speed limit to 80mph.
The transport secretary, Justine Greening, visited the scene, where she said: "I'm sure there will be a discussion about road safety that comes out of this."
Witness
Family link at rescue HQ
It emerged on Sunday that one of the people responsible for co-ordinating the emergency services' response to the M5 crash had the added trauma of hearing that her daughter was caught up in the collision.
Norma Lane, duty director for South West Ambulance Service, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I got the call first from work as part of our escalation, and actually I could see that Katherine was trying to ring me at the same time.
"And I actually then did think, because I knew that she was travelling – I immediately did think 'Katherine's been caught up'. But clearly as soon as … I heard her voice, I knew she was safe. But of course, what she was able to do very quickly was give me an indication of what was going on and what it was like, so it gave me an additional insight and helped me with the co-ordination as well."
Lane said her training had ensured she did not let the personal connection interfere with the job at hand. "Because of the training, you go into a mode of 'you have to act quickly', and it's what you do. You react and make decisions and get on with the job."
http://ciernysery.forums-free.info/t20-topic
Katherine Lane and her boyfriend, Tom Hamill, had been driving on the motorway at the time. They helped get people to safety.
The main police line of inquiry is that fireworks released on pitches alongside the M5 created a "bank" of smoke that reduced visibility to a few metres.
[img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/11/6/1320614111340/M5-crash-aftermath-007.jpg[/img]
Members of Avon and Somerset's major crime team have joined collision investigators to try to establish the cause of the crash near Taunton in Somerset which left seven dead and 51 injured.
Meanwhile, details of some of those who died began to emerge. [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com]cheap jerseys[/url]They include an elderly couple from south Wales who had been visiting relatives in Somerset, and a father and daughter from Berkshire who had been to a funeral. Three lorry drivers are also thought to have died in the tragedy.
During a press conference held on a motorway bridge close to the crash site, assistant chief constable Anthony Bangham confirmed that seven people lost their lives in the series of collisions involving 34 vehicles on Friday night.
He said the bodies had all been recovered and the inquiry was "moving firmly" into the investigative phase.
Bangham said: "Our main line of inquiry has now moved towards the event that was on the side of the carriageway."
A fireworks display was taking place at Taunton rugby football club's [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com/nfl-jerseys]nfl jerseys cheap[/url] Hyde Park ground. There was no bonfire, but police believe smoke from the fireworks could have drifted on to the motorway a few hundred metres away.
Bangham said there was fog in the area but witnesses told police there was "very significant smoke across the carriageway." This "caused a bank similar to a fog bank, which was very distracting and very difficult to drive through", he said. Asked if the display was too close to the M5, he said: "The display was certainly very close."
The rugby club has said previously that its display was over by 8.15pm – 10 minutes before the time of the accident. However people who were at the display said the smoke hung around the area.
"There was that acrid feel to the air you get after a firework display," said [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com/soccer-jerseys]wholesale soccer jerseys[/url]Tim Jones, from Taunton, who was at the club. "It didn't vanish, it hung around."
As Bangham was talking on the bridge, the rugby club was being cordoned off, and police were speaking to club officials. They were also planning to interview people who attended the display.
Bangham said detectives would look at who gave permission for the display [url=http://www.naty.us]naty[/url] and how it was organised. Channel 4 reported that the fireworks company hired by the rugby club insisted the wind had blown the smoke away from the motorway, and said the event would have been cancelled had smoke been drifting on to the M5.
Scene-of-crime experts were among the officers who spent Sunday combing through the debris. Bangham said they had worked "meticulously" to make sure that evidence was not lost. He also urged witnesses who had taken footage of the accident to hand it into the police rather than posting it on the internet.
A statement released by the rugby club said: "Taunton Rugby Club would like to take this opportunity to extend our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of those who have been affected by the tragic incident on the M5 motorway on Friday 4th November. As a family based [url=http://www.shoping-jerseys.com/nfl-jerseys-pittsburgh-steelers]steelers jerseys cheap[/url] community club Taunton RFC held a fireworks display on the evening of the 4th November. Taunton RFC is working closely with Avon and Somerset police to assist with their investigations."
The motorway, which had been closed in both directions, was fully reopened on Sunday night after the 60 metres of carriageway that had been damaged by fire was repaired.
Formal identification of the victims has yet to take place, but they are known to include an elderly couple, Tony and Pamela Adams, from Newport in south Wales, who had been visiting family in Taunton.
A tribute to the pair, issued on behalf of loved ones, said: "The family of Tony and Pam Adams are devastated and heartbroken at their untimely and tragic loss.
"Our thoughts are not only with our parents but also with all the other persons involved in this incident."
Neighbour and close friend Doreen Martin, 88, said: "It is so tragic. They were such lovely and caring people, devoted to each other and their family."
Prayers were said at their church, St Mark's, where the Rev Andrew Willie said: "The congregation was shocked and deeply saddened. We will remember Tony and Pam with love and affection."
Three lorry drivers who are believed to have been travelling in two separate trucks are also understood to be among those killed.
Two other victims are Michael Barton and his daughter Maggie, from Berkshire, [url=http://cheapnfljerseysfreeshipping.weebly.com]cheap jerseys[/url] who had been attending a funeral in the west country. His other daughter, Emma, was injured in the accident and is currently in hospital.
More witness reports of the dreadful driving conditions on the M5 that suddenly affected the M5 emerged.
Matt Craker, who was travelling from Devon to Gloucester with his wife, Michelle, and seven-year-old son, Freddie, said: "It was like someone turned out the lights. I have never seen anything like it. It was like a wall of pitch black fog. In my mind, it was either a total freak-of-nature weather condition, or it had to have been that there was some sort of smoke mixed with it.
"There was one car in front of us. Then all of sudden – bam – it was black.
"The car disappeared. I said to Michelle: 'It's like that car has vanished, how weird.' We might as well have been blindfolded. Next thing we knew we were smashed into the back of it."
Craker said they managed to scramble clear of their car just before it burst into flames. "It truly was complete and utter carnage. There were flames everywhere. We could hear people screaming, but we couldn't see them. The heat of the fire was immense. It was utterly horrific."
Ciara Neno, from Weston-super-Mare, said a "black fog" came down and a lorry in front of the car she was in "disappeared".
"We managed to brake and miss the lorry, but it was too late, the carnage had already started. All we heard was thump, thump, thump. My husband dragged people from the cars. The smell was horrendous and there were a number of explosions. We walked away, but other people weren't so lucky."
Tom Hamill, a 25-year-old teacher, who pulled a baby out of a car, described it like "driving into a tin of emulsion".
The tragedy is likely to renew the debate about motorway safety. It comes just weeks after the government announced plans to raise the speed limit to 80mph.
The transport secretary, Justine Greening, visited the scene, where she said: "I'm sure there will be a discussion about road safety that comes out of this."
Witness
Family link at rescue HQ
It emerged on Sunday that one of the people responsible for co-ordinating the emergency services' response to the M5 crash had the added trauma of hearing that her daughter was caught up in the collision.
Norma Lane, duty director for South West Ambulance Service, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I got the call first from work as part of our escalation, and actually I could see that Katherine was trying to ring me at the same time.
"And I actually then did think, because I knew that she was travelling – I immediately did think 'Katherine's been caught up'. But clearly as soon as … I heard her voice, I knew she was safe. But of course, what she was able to do very quickly was give me an indication of what was going on and what it was like, so it gave me an additional insight and helped me with the co-ordination as well."
Lane said her training had ensured she did not let the personal connection interfere with the job at hand. "Because of the training, you go into a mode of 'you have to act quickly', and it's what you do. You react and make decisions and get on with the job."
http://ciernysery.forums-free.info/t20-topic
Katherine Lane and her boyfriend, Tom Hamill, had been driving on the motorway at the time. They helped get people to safety.
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