A police force has apologised to the family of a man who died when two trains collided in mid-Wales.
David Tudor Evans, 66, died after two Transport for Wales (TfW) trains collided head on in Talerddig, near Llanbrynmair in Powys at 7.26pm on October 21.
Now a close family friend has accused the British Transport Police (BTP) – who are investigating the incident – of failing to support the family, with the force issuing an apology on Thursday.
Speaking to the PA news agency, the family friend said: “The fact is that on the night in question, she (Rachel Evans, Mr Evans’ wife) was pretty much left to her own devices, support wasn’t adequately provided at the time.”
On October 22 the force put out a statement saying, “the deceased’s next of kin have been informed and his family are being supported by specialist officers”.
The scene after a collision involving two trains near Llanbrynmair, Mid Wales (Ian Cooper/PA Wire)
But a specialist officer from the BTP visited the family only on October 23.
The friend also said the family also objected to media reports suggesting the cause of death.
“Currently, news outlets are putting out that the cause of death was not related to the collision without any evidence,” he said.
“The opening of the inquest was yesterday, and the cause of death is still indeterminate.”
BTP superintendent Andrew Morgan apologised for their earlier statement.
He said: “We would like to apologise for a miscommunication issued shortly after the train collision which took place on Monday October 21 in Llanbrynmair.
“British Transport Police has apologised directly to the family of the deceased in relation to this statement and would like to apologise publicly for any additional suffering caused at this extremely difficult time.”
Emergency workers at the scene (Ian Cooper/PA Wire)
Louisa Corcoran, assistant coroner for Ceredigion, opened an inquest into his death at the Aberystwyth Justice Centre on Wednesday.
She said a post-mortem examination is in progress and adjourned the inquest while the police investigation was ongoing.
Four other people suffered serious injuries during the incident, and a further 11 sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment.
Investigators from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) suspected the incident was caused by slippery rails.
The RAIB has said the condition of the track on the approach to the collision point meant “adhesion” between wheels and rails was “relatively low”.
It said this suggested an Aberystwyth-bound train may have slid while braking, causing it to crash at a speed of around 15mph into a stationary train destined for Shrewsbury.