About a month after an Amtrak train fatally derailed in Washington (sending multiple cars dangling over an interstate), the passenger train service has experienced another deadly accident in South Carolina. CNN reports that an Amtrak passenger train has collided with a CSX freight train, causing a derailment near Columbia, S.C. and killing at least two people. The Washington Post adds that over 70 people were also injured, although it’s currently believed that none of those injuries are considered life-threatening in nature.
The accident occurred at 2:35 a.m. on Amtrak’s route between New York in Miami. According to NBC News, the train was carrying 139 passengers and 8 crew members. CBS News notes that authorities remain on the scene, and it wasn’t immediately evident whether the freight train was moving when the collision occurred:
Amtrak says the lead engine and a few passenger cars derailed on Amtrak 91, which was operating from New York to Miami. 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 haven’t determined if both trains were moving or if the Amtrak train was diverted on to a side track.
However, CNN has since reported that the freight train was parked at the time of the collision. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, and this video, which shows one Amtrak train car flipped over and crushed, arrives courtesy of Maayan Schechter of The State.
One train car completely flipped over and crushed. @thestate #sctweets pic.twitter.com/i4dbyP69bP
— Maayan Schechter (@MaayanSchechter) February 4, 2018
This is a developing story, and we’ll report additional updates as they arrive.
(Via Washington Post, CNN, NBC News & CBS News)