ALERT: Seattle-Tacoma: Amtrak Train Derailment Causes “Mass Casualty” (December 18, 2017)
December 18, 2017
There are multiple fatalities after a high-speed Amtrak train derailed and dangled from an overpass onto Interstate 5 in Dupont, Washington outside of Tacoma. A section of the highway has been closed down. Amtrak service south of Seattle is temporarily suspended.
NBC News reports:
Several people were killed Monday after an Amtrak train derailed while traveling on the first day of a new route outside Tacoma, Washington.
“There have been multiple casualties as a result of the Amtrak derailment near Tacoma, Washington,” Pierce County spokesman Ed Troyer said of the 7:40 a.m. incident. “The casualties include multiple injuries and fatalities.”
The cause is under investigation, Troyer said.
Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted a picture of the derailment at 7:45 a.m. PST, showing what appeared to be a car on its side over a highway lane.
“All SB lanes of I-5 blocked near Mounts Road in Pierce County due to derailed train car. Avoid area!” the tweet said.
Following the incident, Amtrak tweeted that it had been made aware of the incident.
“Amtrak is aware of an incident with Train 501, Cascades service from Seattle to Portland. Emergency services are on the scene and Amtrak management is responding,” the company said in a statement.
“Amtrak service south of Seattle is temporarily suspended. Service from Seattle to points north and east is continuing to operate.”
The derailment happened between Olympia and Tacoma on a newly established Amtrak route aimed at adding more frequent and faster service Seattle and Portland, part of an $800 million project called the Cascades High-Speed Rail Capital Program.
Reuters reports:
An Amtrak passenger train derailed on a bridge over a major highway in DuPont, Washington, on Monday morning, blocking all southbound lanes on Interstate 5 and prompting a massive emergency response, according to local authorities and news media reports.
Amtrak confirmed its train was involved but did not provide further information.
“We are aware of an incident involving Amtrak train 501,” the rail operator said on Twitter. “We will update with additional details as they become available.”
Part of the train fell onto the interstate around 7:30 a.m. (1530 GMT), causing several injuries, The News Tribune reported. The local newspaper did not have further details on the nature or extent of the injuries. No deaths were immediately reported.
A photograph posted on Twitter by the Washington State Department of Transportation showed a train car that had apparently veered off a bridge onto the highway below. The agency said southbound lanes were closed, and warned drivers to avoid the area.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that it was gathering information about the incident.
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