THE driver of the tram in Wednesday’s deadly crash was released on bail yesterday.

The 42-year-old man from Beckenham, south-east London, had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the tragedy, in which five men and one woman were killed.

It was the first fatal tram accident since 1959, and the most deadly accident on rails since the Potters Bar crash in 2002.
The driver reportedly said he had blacked out at the controls.

The tram derailed and crashed onto its side as it was negotiating a “sharp, left-hand curve” with a speed limit of 12mph.

Investigators said the vehicle was travelling at a “significantly higher speed than is permitted” and are now examining whether the driver had fallen asleep.

Industry sources have argued that trams have less comprehensive safety arrangements than London Underground trains.

Trams have a “dead man’s handle,” but emergency brakes may not kick in if the driver keeps hold of it — even if they were to faint or black out.

The tram was travelling from New Addington to Wimbledon via Croydon when the accident happened at 6.10am.

Scenes after the crash were described as “total carnage” after the two-carriage tram tipped over in heavy rain next to an underpass.

Dane Chinnery, a 19-year-old Crystal Palace fan, was among those killed.

His friend Tom Dale, 20, said that after the tram crashed he was looking for his friend, and asking: “Where’s Dane? Where’s Dane?,” but all he could see was Mr Chinnery’s boot where he had been sitting.

The pair, who went to Addington High School together and took part in performing arts, were on their way to work.

Mr Dale described the aftermath as being “like walking out of a war zone” and said of his friend: “He was just a friendly, genuine lad, did no harm to nobody, really. No-one deserves for this to happen to them.”

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s probe continues.