AN HEROIC Sussex University student who cheated death in a Kenyan train crash was injured trying to save others from the wreckage.

Daniel Burstow was lucky to escape alive after the overnight train from Nairobi to Mombasa derailed in the Tsavo National Park early yesterday, killing 32people.

He was travelling with his girlfriend and nine fellow second year students after ending a three-week geography field trip in north east Kenya.

All 11 escaped without serious injury. Ten spent the night at the Mayfair Court Hotel in Nairobi, but one is still in hospital recovering from a back injury.

Last night, a shaken Daniel, 20, from Monks Gate, near Horsham, told the Argus he injured his shin freeing trapped passengers from the overturned carriages.

He said: "I was in one of the carriages that didn't flip over, so I only injured myself while trying to help other people out of their carriages.

"As for the others, they were all in another carriage, so how they escaped with the minor injuries they had I don't know. It's quite unbelievable."

He added: "I noted that the train was travelling rather fast. The next thing I know is that there was a rather large noise and a lot of commotion.

"There was a lot of rushing. The doors were locked and I wanted to get out. I could see some carriages off the track. There were a lot of dead and dying people.

"We knew there had been a crash. We got out in the dark and started to help people but all the doors were locked so we had to smash windows and pull these badly injured people out. It was just nightmarish chaos."

Daniel said he and girlfriend, Caroline Layzell, a 20-year-old psychology student, had decided to continue travelling, despite their ordeal.

He said: "This hasn't tarnished my images of the country, but what has happened has been very sad, and what all of us have seen and witnessed has been very traumatic."

Daniel's father, Don, 51, said: "The first thing we heard about the accident was when we had a phone call from the university in the morning to say it had happened and Daniel was injured, but it wasn't that serious.

"It's typical of Dan that he got involved and tried to help other people get out of the train. He would have done that and not been very worried about what he was doing to himself.

"I'd advise him and his girlfriend to go up to the coast for a few days to relax after this.

"It's a bit like getting back on a horse. I think it's far better that they carry on now."

Mr Burstow added that he had kept in contact with Daniel's mother, ex-wife Joanna, who lives in Horsham, throughout the past 24 hours.

Daniel's sister, Diane, said: "Apparently, Dan climbed back into the train after getting out himself to try to help other people.

"That's definitely like him. He doesn't ever put himself first, and he is the sort of person who stays calm, rather than panicking."

Aspokesman for the privately run Nairobi Hospital said 24 casualties had been admitted following the rail accident.

He said nine Britons, 11 French and four Kenyans had been treated, but to his knowledge, none was in a critical condition.

AForeign Office spokesman said the number of dead was still unconfirmed but defence officials in Kenya believed the toll included at least five foreign nationals.

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