update: Emergency services respond to train fire in Llangennech

Emergency services have been dealing with a major incident overnight as they responded to a train fire in Llangennech, Carmarthenshire.

The incident was reported at just before 11.20pm on Wednesday, August 26, when a number of carriages of a diesel train had caught alight.

Dyfed-Powys Police, British Transport Police, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended, with support from Carmarthenshire Council and Natural Resources Wales.

An emergency services presence is still at the scene.

An evacuation zone was immediately put in place by Dyfed-Powys Police, with residents at homes within 800m of the fire being asked to leave and to convene at Bryn School and Llangennech Community Centre.

Dyfed-Powys Police Superintendent Ross Evans said: “This was a fast-moving situation, which was declared a major incident due to the initial risk of harm to people living in the area.

“The policing response was large scale, with officers across the force retained on duty to ensure we had sufficient resources to carry out the evacuation swiftly, as well as the deployment of a logistics specialist to assist and advise our officers on safely moving people from their homes to the reception points.

“The evacuation no doubt caused a significant amount of disruption for those evacuated in the middle of the night, and I would like to personally thank residents for their response, as well as our frontline officers who swiftly moved hundreds of residents out of their homes.

“My thanks also go to our emergency services colleagues for their response, and partners at the local authority for their assistance in finding and opening Bryn School and Llangennech Community Centre as safe points.

“Officers will continue to be visible in Llangennech, and we will continue to work closely with our colleagues at British Transport Police, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Carmarthenshire Council, and Natural Resources Wales to bring the incident to a conclusion.”