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Emergency services at the scene of the Tinwald collision - Source: Fairfax
Police investigating the death of a woman on railway lines near Ashburton say she was earlier involved in a police pursuit.
Emergency services are still at the scene on railway lines in Tinwald where a woman died after she was hit by a train.
Rural Canterbury Area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said the victim had earlier fled from police when she was involved in an "incident" in Ashburton.
A brief pursuit followed, but was abandoned 15 minutes before the victim was involved in the accident.
"We are not at this stage seeking anyone else in connection to this tragic incident," said Gaskin.
A woman, who declined to be named, drove past the crash site as the incident unfolded.
''I just came past and it looks like a car has hit a train and it's dragged the car about one kilometre," she said.
"The car was just popping and banging as we were driving - just, it was horrible. It didn't look very nice.''
The woman believed the car was a Subaru, but was not certain.
The train was travelling north and three fire engines, two ambulances and four police cars were at the scene. Another witness said there was ''a lot of commotion'' and smoke.
The train, which was travelling on the main south line, was stopped near the Tinwald saleyards, south of Maronan Road.
On Monday, a woman escaped with minor to moderate injuries after her car hit the side of a train at Dunsandel in Selwyn, 50km north of Tinwald.