A cattle truck and a freight train collided fatally with "a god awful thud" at a South Canterbury rail crossing, says a man who was first to the scene.
Brian Stone of Orari, who lives about 500m from the crash site at the Hawke Rd crossing at Orari,13km north of Temuka, told NZPA he heard the train horn sound before the crash .
About four seconds later there was "a god awful thud, then silence which is unusual" as it meant the train engine had stopped.
Mr Stone, a volunteer firefighter, knew then it was serious, so he rushed to the crash site, finding the cattle truck had been torn in two.
He checked the driver of the truck first, and finding no pulse moved to help the train driver who was lucid and able to talk, but too shocked and weak to get out of the cab.
Mr Stone alerted emergencies services.
Sergeant Lindsay Turner, of Christchurch police, said the engine and a number of wagons had derailed in the accident
He understood one person was dead and another was seriously injured, but had yet to confirm that.
A vet was called to destroy a number of injured animals.
Toll spokeswoman Sue Foley said the freight train was heading south to Dunedin when the accident occurred.
She understood the train driver was trapped in his cab but was able to speak to rescuers.
An eyewitness said the collision had caused a real mess.
"I think it's going to take a long time to clean up."
Mr Turner said Hawke Rd would be closed for some time but diversions were in place.
