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Two dead and 70 injured in South Carolina train crash Two dead and more than 100 injured in South Carolina train crash
(about 3 hours later)
Train carrying 139 passengers and eight crew collided with freight train at about 2.30am Train carrying 139 passengers and eight crew collided with freight train at about 2.45am
Associated Press in Cayce, South CarolinaAssociated Press in Cayce, South Carolina
Sun 4 Feb 2018 14.17 GMTSun 4 Feb 2018 14.17 GMT
First published on Sun 4 Feb 2018 11.43 GMTFirst published on Sun 4 Feb 2018 11.43 GMT
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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. An Amtrak passenger train hit a freight train parked on a side track in South Carolina early on Sunday, killing two Amtrak employees and injuring more than 110 people, authorities said. It was the third deadly wreck involving Amtrak in less than two months.
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. Amtrak’s Silver Star was on its way from New York to Miami with eight crew members and about 140 passengers around 2.45am when it plowed into the CSX train at an estimated 59mph, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said.
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. The wreck took place around a switchyard about 10 miles south of Columbia. The governor said investigators have yet to determine how the Amtrak train ended up on that stretch of track.
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 CSX was on the track it was supposed to be on,” McMaster said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was deploying investigators to the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators.
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. McMaster said 116 people were taken to four hospitals. The main trauma hospital in the area had three patients in critical or serious condition, with the rest treated for minor injuries such as cuts, bruises and whiplash, said Steve Shelton, Palmetto Health director of emergency preparedness.
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. In a tweet, Donald Trump said: “My thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims involved in this mornings train collision in South Carolina. Thank you to our incredible First Responders for the work they’ve done!”
“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.” Drone footage showed the locomotives of both trains crumpled, the Amtrak engine on its side. One car in the middle of the Amtrak train was snapped in half, forming a V off to the side of the tracks.
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. “It’s a horrible thing to see, to understand the force involved,” McMaster said after touring the scene.
Amtrak set up a passenger information line at 1-800-523-9101. Many passengers were asleep with the train began shaking violently and then slammed to a halt, passenger Derek Pettaway told CBS. “You knew we’d hit something or we’d derailed,” he said.
Elliot Smith told the State newspaper he was staying with a friend when they heard what sounded like a propane tank exploding.
“The sound was so loud, you instantly knew it was bad,” he said, adding that he and his friend saw passengers limping along the tracks, while others tried to get everyone out of the cars.
Amtrak officials gathered up luggage and other belongings and within hours put passengers aboard buses to their destinations. Before being sent on their way, those who were not hurt were taken to a shelter, and local businesses provided coffee and breakfast.
“We know they are shaken up quite a bit. 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,” sheriff’s spokesman Adam Myrick said.
On Wednesday, a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a strategy retreat slammed into a garbage truck at a crossing in rural Virginia, killing one person in the truck and injuring six others.
On 18 December, an Amtrak train ran off the rails along a curve during its inaugural run on a route south of Tacoma, Washington, killing three people and injuring dozens. It was going nearly 80mph, more than twice the speed limit.
South CarolinaSouth Carolina
Rail transportRail transport
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