Motorists killed in US as train falls from bridge, crushing cars below
Motorists were killed yesterday in Washington state after a passenger train came off a bridge over a highway and crushed cars below.
Seventy-seven people were taken to hospital. Amtrak, which provides intercity rail services in the US, said there were about 78 passengers and five crew aboard at the time.
Passenger Chris Karnes told news outlet Kiro 7 that passengers were forced to kick out the train’s windows to escape as emergency doors failed after the derailment.
“We had just passed the city of DuPont and it seemed like we were going around a curve,” Mr Karnes said. “All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill.”
“The next thing we know, we’re slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there’s water gushing out of the train. People were screaming,” he said.
The derailment took place on the first day that Amtrak trains began using a track between the cities of Tacoma and Olympia, part of a project to cut travel time, according to the state’s transportation department. The route takes trains along Interstate 5, eliminating a major choke point for passenger trains in Tacoma and allowing trains to reach speeds of 127 kilometres per hour.
It was not clear whether the derailment, which took place during a busy travel time a week before the Christmas holiday, was connected to the route.
The train derailed around 7.30am in DuPont, a city of about 8,000 people.
The national transportation safety board said on Twitter that it was gathering information about the incident.
“We’re praying for everyone on board the train, and ask everyone to hold them in your thoughts,” Washington governor Jay Inslee tweeted.