Train falls on M-way
AT least six people died and dozens were hurt as a high-speed train crashed off a bridge and plummeted on to rush-hour traffic on a US motorway.
AT LEAST six people died when a high-speed train crashed off a bridge and plummeted onto busy motorway.
It careered off a bend – sending two carriages falling on rush-hour traffic.
There were 78 passengers and five staff on board the train and emergency services reported 77 injuries.
People in vehicles on the freeway appeared to have escaped death but several suffered severe injuries. The newly-refurbished train was on its first-ever run on a new 80mph route between Seattle in Washington state and Portland, Oregon.
Police confirmed last night that they were dealing with “multiple fatalities” and a large number of serious injuries.
Some of the injured were treated on the ground while others remained trapped by carriages for hours. Passenger Chris Karnes said: “We were going around a curve. 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 being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there’s water gushing out of the train. People were screaming. We could feel the cars crumpling.”
Terrified passengers were forced to kick out windows to escape when emergency doors failed to open. A dramatic picture taken moments after the horrific incident shows the train dangerously dangling from the overpass with one carriage upside-down on the road.
Several cars on the highway were struck by the derailed carriages, the County Sheriff’s department said.
The crash occurred about 45 minutes into Amtrak 501’s journey between the two cities.