POLICE would consider manslaughter charges against the driver of the minibus involved in the fatal collision with a train on a railway crossing near Pershore, depending on evidence gathered during their ongoing investigation into the tragedy.

Det Insp Huw Jones, of British Transport Police, who are conducting inquiries into the accident in which three foreign farm labourers died at Pools Crossing, Charlton on Monday, confirmed that possible legal proceedings had not been ruled out.

He added that two of the men killed - a Kurd and an Indian - had now been positively identified from their fingerprints by the immigration service. The third man who died is thought to be Bangladeshi.

Det Insp Jones, of the minibus driver, said: "If the evidence points to him being negligent by his actions, then he may well face a charge of manslaughter, but only after we have heard all statements and interviewed the witnesses."

Answers to questions about safety warnings at railway crossings like the one at the centre of the accident have also been demanded by Mid Worcestershire's MP.

Peter Luff, who was among 220 passengers on the London-bound train which was involved in the crash, at Pools Crossing, Charlton on Monday, raised the issue in the Commons just hours after he escaped injury in the accident.

It has also been revealed that there had been two previous near misses at the crossing site and 15 incidents when it had not been used properly.

In addition to the three deaths, three other workers in the Ford Transit minibus - which was carrying a variety of foreign workers, believed to be Iraqi, Somalian and Asian - were seriously injured while three had minor injuries. One train passenger received minor injuries.

One of the victims remained in Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital with serious abdominal injuries yesterday, while two with broken bones were described as comfortable and expected to be released soon from Worcestershire Royal Hospital. Another has already been released from hospital.

The accident happened at around 8.24am and police have since confirmed that the minibus's occupants had failed to follow the safety procedure of using a telephone at the unmanned crossing to ring a signal box for permission to cross the line.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board said: "Since January 1995, there have been two occasions when a train driver reported a near miss with a road vehicle and a further 15 occasions when misuse of the crossing was reported."