Margate man killed in train collision near Rockhampton

Forensic investigators remain at the scene of a major train collision west of Rockhampton after one man was killed and two others badly injured in an incident on Friday.

UPDATE 4.30PM: One person has died and two others have been rushed to hospital after a horror train collision at Westwood Friday afternoon.

Emergency services, including forensic crash investigators remain at the scene of the incident, west of Rockhampton on the Capricorn Highway, trying to piece together how the tragedy occurred.

Preliminary inquiries indicate around 11.40am two trains collided, one an empty locomotive travelling westbound and the other also travelling west loaded with coal.

It is understood the drivers of one of the trains, which was reversing, were hundreds of metres away at the other end, and were uninjured.

Four people at the impact site were assessed at the scene, with one suffering fatal injuries - a 49-year-old Margate man who died at the scene.

A 43-year-old man suffered suspected fractures to his leg and arm as well as head and potential spinal injuries and was airlifted by RACQ Capricorn Helicopter in a critical condition to Rockhampton Hospital.

A third person, a 41-year-old man, suffered minor injuries and was transported to hospital by road and the fourth person was unharmed.

The Capricorn Highway had to be closed for around two hours.

| Westwood Train Collision | Early this afternoon, #RACQ #CapRescue was en-route to Gladstone Hospital when the...

Posted by RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service (Official Site) on Thursday, June 17, 2021

UPDATE 2PM: The Capricorn Highway has reopened to traffic after a major rail incident at Westwood.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman confirmed the Capricorn Highway was closed 150m east of Westwood, but it is understood it reopened about 2.30pm.

A Morning Bulletin reporter at the scene said the RACQ Capricorn Helicopter had landed on the highway and paramedics were assisting in loading a patient into the chopper. The rescue chopper has now left the scene.

He said off to the side of the highway on the railway tracks, police and paramedics were working to treat more people.

He said the train involved in the incident was on the tracks and emergency workers were moving around it.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said four people had been assessed at the scene, with a man in his 40s in a critical condition.

Two patients in their 30s are stable, with one suffering an ankle injury and another with spinal precautions and a minor head injury.

The man with spinal precautions and the head injury is being transported via road to Rockhampton Hospital.

The fourth person is uninjured.

INITIAL: One person is in a critical condition and two others are badly injured after a train collision west of Rockhampton.

The incident was reportedly called in by Aurizon and occurred near Capricorn Highway and Huxham Lane, Westwood, about 11.40am.

Three fire crews, as well as police and Queensland Ambulance Service, are on scene.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman confirmed a single locomotive train has crashed into the back of a coal wagon.

She said the coal wagon was empty and was derailed in the collision.

The spokeswoman said crews were assessing the stability of the locomotive and applying a foam blanket to a diesel leak.

A QAS spokeswoman said paramedics were assessing three patients on scene, including one patient in a critical condition and two males in stable conditions, one with an ankle injury and the other with spinal precautions.

The RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue has been tasked to attend.

It is understood Queensland Rail was isolating power to overhead lines.