"We know that a number of people have been injured and that one person has tragically died," British police wrote in a statement. According to the East of England Ambulance Service, 89 people are injured, of whom eleven have "very serious injuries" and 22 people are "seriously injured," the BBC reports.
A major rescue operation has been underway in the Bedford area since just after 7pm on Friday.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on Platform X that he views the accident very seriously and that his "thoughts are with the deceased person's relatives."
Eyewitness Peter Knapp was evacuated from one of the trains involved. He told the BBC that the collision felt like "something had exploded" and that he saw several people with injuries at the scene.
Pictures posted on social media show damage to train carriages and partially derailed trains along the railway.
All traffic on the route between Luton and Bedford has been stopped, and the public has been urged to avoid the area and refrain from travelling, train operator Thameslink said in a statement, according to the BBC.
The train route north of London is otherwise heavily congested.
