Washington - Two subway trains collided Monday in the US
capital, leaving at least six people dead and 70 injured, authorities
said.
The above-ground collision occurred about 5 pm (2100 GMT) just
inside Washington, near the Maryland state line. One train had
apparently stopped between stations before being struck from behind
by a second train.
'The scene is as horrific as you can imagine,' Washington Mayor
Adrian Fenty said.
Local news footage showed one heavily damaged carriage pushed up
on top of another. The force of the collision tore the floor out of
the moving train's front car as it vaulted onto the stopped carriage.
The driver of the moving train was among the dead, officials said.
The driver's compartment at the front of the train was obliterated.
Both trains were inbound from the suburbs into the city during the
evening rush hour and apparently not filled to capacity. A similar
collision of outbound trains packed with commuters at that hour could
have produced a far higher casualty toll.
Washington Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said that 70 people had been
treated for injuries. Of those, 50 were 'walking wounded,' 14 people
suffered serious injuries and six were in critical condition.
About 200 of the city's firefighters had been mobilized to assist
with the rescue, with additional firefighters being called in from at
least four outlying counties in Virginia and Maryland, Rubin said.
John Catoe, chief of the multi-jurisdictional agency that runs the
Metro train and bus system in Washington and adjoining suburbs in
Maryland and Virginia, said he was 'extremely saddened' by the
fatalities.
'We will get to the bottom and find out what happened,' he said.
National Transportation Safety Board official Deborah Hersman was
on the scene late Monday to lead the federal accident probe. She said
that at least nine investigators would participate from the federal
agency, which probes all fatal accidents involving aviation and rail.
The accident was the deadliest in the Washington Metrorail
system's 33-year history, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said in a
press conference late Monday.
A 1982 derailment killed three people, and a 2004 collision caused
only minor injuries.
USA
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