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Two trains involved in a crash in Washington - Source: Reuters
Two Washington DC subway trains have collided during the
afternoon rush hour, killing six people, according to the New York
Times, and injuring 70 in a mass of tangled metal.
Mayor Adrian Fenty, giving the number of those killed, called the
crash the deadliest in the 33-year history of the city's Metro
train subway system.
The city's fire chief, Dennis Rubin, said 70 people had been
treated for injuries, including at least two who were critically
injured.
At least one car from one of the trains was hurled onto the top of
the other train in the accident, which occurred on above-ground
tracks.
Emergency workers propped ladders up against train doors to rescue
people.
Officials said one train hit another train that had stopped, but
the cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, who have been uncommonly active in the life of the capital city, sent condolences.
"Michelle and I were saddened by the terrible accident in Northeast Washington, DC, today," Obama said in a statement.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends
affected by this tragedy."
It happened on the heavily traveled Red Line at 5pm EST on Monday
(9am on Tuesday, NZ time) between Fort Totten and Takoma stations
on the northeastern outskirts of the city near the border with
Maryland. Both trains were heading south into the city.
It was the first crash involving a passenger death since 1982 when
three people were killed in a derailment. The Metro train system
began service in 1976.
"What happened at approximately 5:02 or 5:03 (was) one train was
stopped waiting to get the order to pass because of a train stopped
at the platform. The next train came up behind it and for reasons
that we do not know collided into the back of that train," John
Catoe, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Authority, told reporters.
Train operator killed
The transit authority said one of those killed was a female train
operator in the trailing train. The accident trapped passengers in
one or more of the subway cars.
"It just happened. There was no slowing down of the train, just a
jerk," said Theroza Doshi. "There was no attempt at braking. We
just slammed into whatever we slammed into."
Emergency rescue personnel worked to free the passengers, while
others carried injured people off the trains on stretchers.
Authorities said the accident would affect freight train traffic
operating through Maryland and Washington DC.
One witness described how one train appeared to collide with - and
then run up and over - the second train.
"It was very mangled, everything is ripped out of there," the
woman, who was not identified, told the local ABC television
affiliate.
A reporter with Fox television's local news affiliate said he saw
what appeared to be a body covered with a sheet, and several
injured passengers including one wearing a neck brace.
The subway system is heavily used to get in and around the US
capital.
There have been relatively few serious accidents involving commuter trains in the United States over the past 15 years.
In one accident in September, a commuter train collided with a freight train in Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring more than 130.
The engineer of the commuter train was found to have been
sending text messages on his mobile phone seconds before the
crash.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were at
the crash site Monday to collect evidence.
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