A passenger train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago derailed in Missouri on Monday afternoon, and multiple fatalities are being reported.
The Southwest Chief was carrying about 243 passengers when it collided with a dump truck near Mendon at 1:42 p.m., Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said.
Social media posts from the scene show several rail cars on their sides. The Missouri Highway Patrol said eight cars derailed.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a “large fatality event” has occurred. The department is on standby for any environmental problems.
Three passengers were taken from the scene to University Hospital in Columbia, hospital spokesman Eric Maze said. He did not have information on their conditions.
The Highway Patrol and other local law enforcement units were at the scene to help and Amtrak said it has deployed resources to the site.
Mendon, with a population of about 160, is about 84 miles (135 kilometers) northeast of Kansas City.
(AP)
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4 Responses
I’ve always wondered why there are no seat belts on trains.
Ban dump trucks?
Why hasn’t sleepy joe cut short his trip to G7 summit, and come immediately back to be at this Amtrak disaster scene and help out.
i always wondered why there wouldnt be a safety thing that disconnects the trains from each other when one starts to derail? the other cars emergency brakes would automatically engage if that happened