A tram which crashed and overturned, killing five people and injuring more than 50, was travelling at a 'significantly higher speed than is permitted', it was announced this afternoon.
Witnesses said they heard a loud crash shortly after 6am when the two-carriage vehicle came off the rails near Croydon in torrential rain. A witness said the driver said he 'blacked out' and fell onto the controls.
Residents said the vehicle was coming down towards a bend on a steep slope and carried on down the hill rather than turning, it then tipped over onto its side at the entrance of a tunnel.
Several survivors were trapped in the wreckage, with a large team of emergency workers battling for hours to free them and ferry the dozens of injured to hospitals across the capital.
Witnesses spoke of chaotic scenes after the crash. One injured passenger said he saw a number people dead and serious injured. A local resident said she had to shut her windows to protect her grandchildren from the sound of screaming victims.
Police have confirmed the male driver of the tram has been arrested in connection with the incident but refused to confirm what crime he was suspected of having committed.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said the tram derailed as it was negotiating a 'sharp, left-hand curve' with a speed limit of 12 mph. A spokesman said: 'Initial indications suggest that the tram was travelling at a significantly higher speed than is permitted.'One passenger said the vehicle seemed to speed up when the driver appeared to fall asleep. The driver told one man that he had 'blacked out'.
Father-of-four Martin Bamford, who was on his way to work when the tram turned over, said: 'When we were coming through the tunnel we were going at some speed and the tram was speeding up more and more.
'We were coming out of the tunnel and we hit the bend way too fast and the tram flipped. The tram was full mainly of people going to work.
'There was a girl who was on top of me and she did not look very much alive at all. She was bleeding all over the place and I don't think she made it.
'People had broken legs and head injuries. When it flipped everything went flying, people were on top of me.
'There was blood everywhere and belongings and shoes. It was absolute carnage. I just can't seem to get it out of my head, it just keeps going over and over again.
'I looked around and there was just blood everywhere I was shouting through to the driver to ask him if he was okay. He was laying on his side and I asked him if he was ok. I think he was in his mid 30s or 40s.
'When we got out I asked the driver if he was okay and what happened and he just said to me "I think I blacked out".'
Martin Harris, who was on his way to work, called his mother Jane after the crash to tell her a 'dead body was lying on top of him'. He is now in hospital with neck, back and head injuries.
Ms Harris said: 'My son was on the tram I had spoke to him for a few seconds and he said that the tram driver was going really fast it looked like the driver had fallen asleep, the next thing he new the tram had derailed and gone over.'
She added: 'He was on the tram, the tram was going really fast, the tram went over, my son had a dead body on him. He was taken to hospital with four broken ribs, damaged back and neck, and a bad head.' During a visit to the scene, London mayor Sadiq Khan said: 'I'm afraid as a consequence of a very serious tram derailing this morning there have been a number of fatalities. I can confirm that five people have died and we think that number may well increase.'
Croydon local Roger Smith, 73, who lives opposite the stop, said the steepness of the track was a problem.
He said: 'The tram comes down a steep hill and then the tracks bear left and right. It has come off the track as if it's carried on down the hill instead of turning.'
Fellow resident Adil Salahi, 76, who heard the crash, added he fears the vehicle was going around the bend 'too quickly'
He said: 'It sounded like a lorry had smashed into my garage, it was so loud. It's quite shocking to see, it's not something you see out your window very often.
'I think if it had happened later in the day it could have been even worse as the tram would have been even busier. It looks like it happened on the bend where they go quite quickly.'
Passenger Nathan Gibson suffered cuts to his head in the crash and claimed he was standing near two passengers who died.
Writing on Facebook, he said: 'Not the best look to have today, some a lot more worse off. I'm fine, just a few cuts here and there.
'All patched up, just awaiting a CT scan because of where I banged my head.
'Apparently [the driver] blacked out. I was standing nearby to one of the deceased... The officer that first came though counted two deceased.'
Meanwhile, the husband of the woman who 'could not get up' told the Croydon Advertiser he was 'very concerned for her wellbeing' as it was revealed paramedics have taken 56 patients to hospital.
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