Southsea train station: Person is hit by train sparking huge rescue effort
A HUGE rescue operation was launched after a person was hit by a train this evening.
The incident took place at Southsea railway station shortly before 10.40pm.
Emergency workers from across the city flooded the transport hub as rail services in and out of Portsmouth ground to a halt.
Three fire engines and a ‘rescue support vehicle’ from Hampshire Fire and Rescue joined at least five paramedic vehicles and six police units.
In a statement, railway operator Southern confirmed a person had been struck by a train.
‘It is with great sadness that we report a person has been hit by a train between Havant and Portsmouth Harbour,’ a spokesman said.
‘All lines are blocked between these stations whilst the emergency services work to deal with this incident.’
Rescue workers spent more than an hour recovering the casualty, who was transported out of the station on a stretcher shortly before midnight.
The person’s condition is not known at this time.
The situation shocked people living nearby the station.
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Charlotte Gager, 20, is a first-year journalism student at the University of Portsmouth.
She said: ‘It was quite a shock to see so many emergency vehicles there. I was thinking that something really serious must have happened.
‘To hear someone has been hit by a train is really sad news.’
Fellow journalism student Reagan Loftus, 19, added: ‘We were wondering whether it was worse than it was. Obviously when you see that many emergency it must have been serious.
‘But it is very sad and surprising to hear someone has been hit by a train.’
The News has approached British Transport Police for a comment about this evening’s incident.
Updates to follow.