A TWENTY-five-year-old man charged with manslaughter after a railway level crossing tragedy has appeared before a judge at Worcester Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.

Adnan Kadir Karam, of Carpenters Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, spoke only to confirm his name. No charges were put to him.

He is alleged to have been the driver of a minibus which was in collision with a train on a private level crossing at a farm in Charlton near Evesham on July 7.

At an earlier hearing before Worcester magistrates, the defendant was charged with three counts of manslaughter.

Interpreter

Those who died were Soran Karim, 23, from Iraq, Satish Kumar, 28, from India and 46-year-old Islam Uddin Ahmed from Bangladesh.

Karam, an Iraqi Kurd who speaks no English, was helped by an interpreter to understand the short proceedings in front of Judge Michael Mott.

Nigel Reader, for the Crown, was given until September 9 by the judge to serve the case papers.

Karam will be brought back to court on October 6 to plead to the charges.

His solicitor Charles Hamer said he might be making a bail application to a judge at a later stage.

Karam, wearing a maroon T-shirt and blue jeans, had his right arm in a sling and needed a crutch to help him walk into the dock.

He was remanded back into custody.