At least three people were killed and about 100 others were taken to hospital when a passenger train travelling on a new route derailed Monday in Washington state, police said.
"There are a lot of critical injuries and so we won't know until we get updates from the hospital," Washington State Police spokeswoman Brooke Bova told reporters as she gave the toll when asked about whether there would be more victims.
The train struck several cars and trucks on the highway causing injuries but no additional deaths.
Of the people who were transported to hospitals in Pierce and Thurston counties four of them were considered "level red" patients with the most severe injuries, the Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan Health healthcare network said in a statement.
Earlier, Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, told CNN that 13 of 14 carriages had derailed.
About 78 passengers and five crew members were aboard the train, Amtrak said in a statement.
"There are multiple fatalities," Mr Troyer said.
"It's pretty horrific."
The derailment of 13 carriages of an Amtrak train in Washington State has caused "multiple fatalities". Source: AAP
A Washington State Patrol spokesperson said 13 cars jumped the tracks and five vehicles plus two semi-trailer trucks were involved in the accident when the train was derailed.
People escaped the derailed train by kicking out windows, passenger Chris Karnes told local news outlet KIRO 7.
"All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill," Mr Karnes said.
“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.”
The derailment occurred on the first day Amtrak trains began using a new inland route between the cities of Tacoma and Olympia, part of a project to reduce travel time, according to an October news release from the state’s transportation department.
A Washington State Department of Transportation statement also confirmed it was "the first day of public use of the tracks after weeks of inspection and testing".
This image from video provided by KOMO-TV, shows the site of an Amtrak train that derailed south of Seattle on Monday, December 18, 2017. Source: AAP
The rerouting takes trains along Interstate 5, eliminating a major choke point for passenger trains in Tacoma and allowing trains to reach speeds of 79 miles per hour (127 km per hour), the department has said.
Monday’s train, which had been scheduled to depart Seattle at 6am local time (1400 GMT) for Portland, Oregon, was the first to run along the new route, which uses tracks owned by a local commuter line.
It was not immediately clear whether the derailment, which came during a busy travel time one week before the Christmas holiday, was connected to the rerouting.
The train derailed 7:30am local time (1530 GMT) in DuPont. A photograph posted by a Washington State Police spokeswoman showed an upside-down train car partially crushed on the highway, with a second car dangling off the overpass.
Authorities warned drivers to avoid the area and southbound lanes remained closed.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team of investigators to the site, the federal agency said on Twitter.
"Thank you to the first responders on the scene," Washington Governor Jay Inslee wrote in a Twitter message.
"We're praying for everyone on board the train, and ask everyone to hold them in your thoughts."
Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency due to "loss of life, injuries and damage to infrastructure".
US President Donald Trump tweeted the crash "shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly".
Mr Trump has said he will unveil his long-delayed infrastructure proposal after Congress passes its tax bill.
Train derails in the US. Source: Twitter: Danae Orlob
Interstate 5 is the West Coast’s major north-south highway, running between the US-Mexican border in San Diego, California, and the border with Canada in Washington.
The mayor of one of the towns through which the rerouted trains travel warned earlier this month that the high-speed trains were dangerously close to cars and pedestrians.
"Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens," Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson told transportation officials in early December, according to Seattle’s KOMO News.
- with AFP
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