National

Breaking News: Amtrak Train Derailment Over Washington Highway


Amtrak train derailment
(Source: CNN)

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—December 18, 2017

By: Rosemary Piser

Developing story…may be updated

An Amtrak passenger train in Peirce County, Washington derailed Monday morning spilling multiple cars off an Interstate 5 overpass. One official reports that there are several fatalities among people on the train and injuries to motorists on the highway whose vehicles were struck by the falling train cars. All southbound lanes of Interstate 5 are closed because of the derailment. The incident took place near DuPont, between Tacoma and Olympia.

As Greg Mukai reported to CNN by phone, “I was traveling to work this morning along I-5 and we came to a sudden stop. We all tried to stop quickly to avoid running into each other to be honest. Once we all came to a stop I was able to look up and see, unfortunately, this scary thing of … a train hanging off of the overpass. Lots of military personnel and people ran to try to help the best they could.”

Danae Orlob told CNN, “We came around the corner and it had to have just happened… there were no police there yet. There was one link of the train off to one side and the other on the other side of the freeway. There were crushed cars underneath. There was an insane amount of fire trucks and ambulances heading towards us.”

The 501 train is one of Amtrak’s Cascades trains that connect 18 cities along the I-5 corridor including Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, BC, and Eugene, Oregon.

Amtrak reports that service south of Seattle is temporarily suspended and service from Seattle to points north and east is continuing to operate.

It is being reported that about 77 people have been transferred to local hospitals for treatment and there have been “multiple fatalities.”

Source: CNN, MSNBC


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