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Two dead and 50 injured in South Carolina train crash Two dead and 70 injured in South Carolina train crash
(35 minutes later)
Train carrying 139 passengers and eight crew collided with freight train at about 2.30amTrain carrying 139 passengers and eight crew collided with freight train at about 2.30am
Guardian staff and agencies Associated Press in Cayce, South Carolina
Sun 4 Feb 2018 11.43 GMT Sun 4 Feb 2018 14.17 GMT
Last modified on Sun 4 Feb 2018 14.13 GMT First published on Sun 4 Feb 2018 11.43 GMT
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Two people were killed and 80 injured after a passenger train collided with a freight train in South Carolina. A crash between an Amtrak passenger train and a CSX freight train in South Carolina on Sunday killed two people and injured about 70 others, authorities said.
Amtrak said the train carrying 139 passengers and eight crew was travelling between New York and Miami when it hit the other train, operated by CSX, and derailed near Columbia on Sunday morning. The Amtrak train was heading from New York to Miami with about 139 passengers on board when the crash happened around 2.45am near Cayce, authorities said.
The collision happened at about 2.35am (7.45am GMT), according to local media. The injuries ranged from cuts and scratches to broken bones, Lexington County spokesman Harrison Cahill said. Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said the two people killed were traveling on the Amtrak train.
“Amtrak Train 91, operating between New York and Miami, came in contact with a CSX freight train at around 2.35 am in Cayce, South Carolina,” Amtrak said in a statement on its website. “The lead engine was derailed, as well as some passenger cars.” The lead engine and several passenger of Amtrak Train 91, which was operating from New York to Miami, derailed after coming “in contact” with the freight train, Amtrak said in an emailed statement. There were eight crew members and approximately 140 passengers on board.
The Lexington County sheriff’s department said all passengers had been taken off the train. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was deploying investigators to the scene.
A coroner said the two people killed were both on board the passenger train. The crash happened near a stretch of tracks by a rail yard about 10 miles south of Columbia, where several track spurs split off for freight cars to be unloaded. Authorities said they had not determined if both trains were moving or if the Amtrak train was diverted on to a side track.
Lexington County coroner Margaret Fisher confirmed the fatalities in an email to the Associated Press. She said the names of the people killed and other details would be released later. TV footage from the scene showed the aftermath of the crash, with the Amtrak engine on its side and its front crumpled. People who were not hurt were taken in patrol cars to a shelter, Lexington County sheriff’s spokesman Adam Myrick said.
Palmetto Health spokesman Tammie Epps said the three hospitals run by her company received 62 patients after the crash. Epps said in a statement most passengers appeared to have suffered minor injuries and would likely be treated and released without being admitted. “We know they are shaken up quite a bit,” Myrick said. “We know this is like nothing else they have ever been through. So we wanted to get them out of the cold, get them out of the weather – get them to a warm place.”
Officials said two people had been admitted to hospital. Palmetto Health spokeswoman Tammie Epps said 62 passengers were seen at three of its hospitals. Two of those passengers were admitted. The others appeared to have minor injuries that would not require hospitalization.
Governor Henry McMaster’s spokesman, Brian Symmes, said the governor was on his way to the crash site. Amtrak set up a passenger information line at 1-800-523-9101.
The wreck happened near a rail yard where several spurs branch off for train cars to be unloaded. Investigators said they did not know if the Amtrak train was diverted from its track.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on their way to the crash site, about 10 miles south of Columbia.
South CarolinaSouth Carolina
Rail transportRail transport
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