Tuesday, December 19, 2017
During rush hour on Monday morning the US passenger train derailed onto a motorway in the Washington state killing at least three.
Around 72 people were taken to hospitals after most of the Amtrak train’s carriages left the track.
It was reported that a number of those injured were in a critical condition.
All the carriages had been searched but it did not rule out a rise in the number of dead.
Around seven vehicles two of which were lorries were hit on the I-5 highway below. It was found that several people were injured in their vehicles but none died.
Amtrak’s first passenger service to run on a new, shorter route had left Seattle and headed towards Portland.
The derailment occurred on a section of track located south of Tacoma that was earlier used for freight trains.
Passenger carriages were found strewn across the road while one was seen dangling from the bridge. One carriage was left upside down on the road with wreckage.
An Amtrak spokeswoman said the train had derailed at 07:33 local time .
The train boarded 86 people that including 77 passengers and seven Amtrak crew members and a train technician.
The police mentioned that 19 people were uninjured while from the 72 taken to the hospital 10 suffered from serious injuries.
The state transport department spokesperson Barbara LaBoe said the limit on most of the track was 79mph (128km/h) but drivers were expected to slow dramatically at the spot where the train derailed.
There were warning signs two miles before the lowered limit.
The cause of crash has not been confirmed and investigators have not yet mentioned whether it was due to speed.
President Donald Trump’s tweet reflected the need for his forthcoming infrastructure plan and said that his thoughts and prayers were with those involved.
But the US media outlets specified that his submitted federal transportation budget proposed cuts to funding to national rail systems.
The section of track that underwent crash was recently rebuilt and upgraded using federal funds.
Washington’s governor has declared a state of emergency in two counties.
Family reunification centre at DuPont city hall were set up and people were not to come to the scene of the crash.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
