Multiple deaths after Amtrak train derails onto busy freeway

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PIERCE COUNTY, WA. (NEWS 1130) – At least six people are dead and multiple others are hurt after an Amtrak passenger train derailed and plunged off an overpass onto the busy Interstate 5 freeway south of Tacoma, Washington.

“We have fatalities and casualties,” says Detective Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. “This is a regional mass casualty response.”

Amtrak says about 77 passengers and five crew members were on board the train, which left the tracks about 65 kilometres south of Seattle at around 7:40 am.

Troyer has not been able to confirm reports it may have hit something before it went off the tracks.

“Any speculation on the cause of the crash is just speculation at this point. There is no official word. And we’re using all our resources to do as much as we possibly can to help everybody who’s been affected by this.

 

Photos show one of the cars hanging off the bridge structure with several others askew.

All southbound lanes in the area are blocked indefinitely, and drivers are being advised to avoid the area.

A witness told KOMO-TV that after the derailment, dozens of people jumped out of their cars in the northbound lanes to help.

Amtrak officials said the train was the No. 501, which operates between Seattle and Portland. The train had just begun using a new high-speed route Monday morning.

Amtrak service south of Seattle is temporarily suspended.

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