Four people are dead and dozens are injured after a commuter train derailed in the Bronx borough of New York City only minutes before its expected arrival in Midtown Manhattan.
Three of the four people were killed when they were ejected from the southbound train, the fourth fatality was discovered inside one of the overturned train cars, officials said during a Sunday morning press briefing.
At least 63 people were injured in the wreck, officials added. The injured were rushed to four separate hospitals - 11 are critical, six are in serious condition.
The Grand Central Station-bound Metro-North commuter train jumped the tracks near the Spuyten-Duyvil Station just before 7:30am Sunday morning. All seven of the train cars left the tracks, with two turning completely over and one stopping just before the Harlem River.
Four people have been confirmed dead on the scene of the early Sunday accident, officials said, adding that they were all riding in the overturned cars.
Three individuals were found dead outside the train, FDNY Commissioner Sal Cassano added.
'We believe that three of the four fatalities were thrown from the train,' Mr Cassano said.
Metro North commuter trains do not have seat belts.
'It’s obviously a very tragic situation,' New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, 'unfortunately there are four fatalities and 63 people are injured.’
The driver is among the injured, according to the governor, adding he is listed in stable condition at a local hospital.
The names of the dead will be released once their families are notified, Mr Cuomo added.
Officials do not expect to discover any more dead or injured, and all the injured are expected to survive.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are expected to arrive on the scene Sunday afternoon.
Early footage from the scene showed divers in the water and dogs in the brush searching for bodies. At least 130 emergency responders arrived on the scene, an official said.
All seven of the train's cars jumped the tracks on the Hudson Line train, which runs from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central. Multiple cars are shown are their side, with one only inches from the water.
Witnesses told News 12 they saw several people being taken away on stretchers.
The southbound train jumped the tracks as it came around a turn away from the Hudson River towards the Harlem River immediately before the waterside station.
Passengers laid blame on the driver, telling local media the train was driving much faster than usual.
Frank Tatulli, a rider who escaped the wreck with head and neck injuries, told WABC the train was traveling at a higher than normal rate of speed when it derailed, 'a lot faster.'
Mr Tatulli added that he rides the train every Sunday morning and escaped on his own before responders arrived.
'All of a sudden the train was a little more sideways than it should be, then I looked up and it was on its side... I didn't realize what shape the other train cars were in, I was lucky,' a rider told WABC.
'We are just not sure” what caused the derailment,' an MTA spokesperson told the New York Times. 'That will be the subject of a detailed investigation.'
Another rider described the horrific accident to the Daily News.
'We left the Tarrytown stop, the next stop was 125 St.,' said Dianna Jackson, 40, of Poughkeepsie. 'The driver was going around the curve really fast. Next thing you know [we're] in middle of a wreckage.'
'I was sitting in the first seat in the front of the car facing backwards,' she continued. 'I was flung six feet. I landed on the shattered window (on the side of the train that hit the ground). I was lying on my back, gravel was flying everywhere.'
'I was dragging along the ground... Maybe it was a minute, it felt like an eternity, I just wanted it to stop... I had gravel in my teeth, I was eating rocks,' she recalled. 'But I was grateful to be eating rocks because I'm still alive.'
Another witness said the accident sounded like the road of a jet engine.
'I was at my desk at my computer and I thought a plane was coming in,' Steve Kronenberg told 1010 WINS. 'I jumped away. Then after the noise stopped, I looked out the window and saw the train derailment.'
'I was asleep and I woke up when the car started rolling several times,' said a bloody Joe Zaritsky. 'Then I saw the gravel coming at me, and I heard people screaming. There was smoke everywhere and debris. People were thrown to the other side of the train.'
When the train went over and slammed into the ground, all of the track bed debris came up through the train windows and covered passengers in dust a witness told WABC, which said she looked like she was covered in soot.
The accident happened at roughly the same spot as a trash train derailment in July. Officials indicated they are not sure if the previously repaired tracks were to blame for this incident.
The Hudson Line runs along the Hudson River for the majority of its roughly 80-mile stretch, it is one of the busiest commuter lines into the United States’ busiest train terminal.
An advisory posted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority advised that ‘Hudson Line Customers will experience indefinite delays south of Croton Harmon.’
A separate notice from city government advised that alternate transportation is being arranged in the area.
Amtrak trains also run along the line and split off just before the scene of the accident.
The train operator said Empire service was halted between New York City and Albany after the derailment. Amtrak said its Northeast Corridor service between Boston and Washington was unaffected.
Three of the four people were killed when they were ejected from the southbound train, the fourth fatality was discovered inside one of the overturned train cars, officials said during a Sunday morning press briefing.
At least 63 people were injured in the wreck, officials added. The injured were rushed to four separate hospitals - 11 are critical, six are in serious condition.
The Grand Central Station-bound Metro-North commuter train jumped the tracks near the Spuyten-Duyvil Station just before 7:30am Sunday morning. All seven of the train cars left the tracks, with two turning completely over and one stopping just before the Harlem River.
Four people have been confirmed dead on the scene of the early Sunday accident, officials said, adding that they were all riding in the overturned cars.
Three individuals were found dead outside the train, FDNY Commissioner Sal Cassano added.
'We believe that three of the four fatalities were thrown from the train,' Mr Cassano said.
Metro North commuter trains do not have seat belts.
'It’s obviously a very tragic situation,' New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, 'unfortunately there are four fatalities and 63 people are injured.’
The driver is among the injured, according to the governor, adding he is listed in stable condition at a local hospital.
The names of the dead will be released once their families are notified, Mr Cuomo added.
Officials do not expect to discover any more dead or injured, and all the injured are expected to survive.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are expected to arrive on the scene Sunday afternoon.
Early footage from the scene showed divers in the water and dogs in the brush searching for bodies. At least 130 emergency responders arrived on the scene, an official said.
All seven of the train's cars jumped the tracks on the Hudson Line train, which runs from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central. Multiple cars are shown are their side, with one only inches from the water.
Witnesses told News 12 they saw several people being taken away on stretchers.
The southbound train jumped the tracks as it came around a turn away from the Hudson River towards the Harlem River immediately before the waterside station.
Passengers laid blame on the driver, telling local media the train was driving much faster than usual.
Frank Tatulli, a rider who escaped the wreck with head and neck injuries, told WABC the train was traveling at a higher than normal rate of speed when it derailed, 'a lot faster.'
Mr Tatulli added that he rides the train every Sunday morning and escaped on his own before responders arrived.
'All of a sudden the train was a little more sideways than it should be, then I looked up and it was on its side... I didn't realize what shape the other train cars were in, I was lucky,' a rider told WABC.
'We are just not sure” what caused the derailment,' an MTA spokesperson told the New York Times. 'That will be the subject of a detailed investigation.'
Another rider described the horrific accident to the Daily News.
'We left the Tarrytown stop, the next stop was 125 St.,' said Dianna Jackson, 40, of Poughkeepsie. 'The driver was going around the curve really fast. Next thing you know [we're] in middle of a wreckage.'
'I was sitting in the first seat in the front of the car facing backwards,' she continued. 'I was flung six feet. I landed on the shattered window (on the side of the train that hit the ground). I was lying on my back, gravel was flying everywhere.'
'I was dragging along the ground... Maybe it was a minute, it felt like an eternity, I just wanted it to stop... I had gravel in my teeth, I was eating rocks,' she recalled. 'But I was grateful to be eating rocks because I'm still alive.'
Another witness said the accident sounded like the road of a jet engine.
'I was at my desk at my computer and I thought a plane was coming in,' Steve Kronenberg told 1010 WINS. 'I jumped away. Then after the noise stopped, I looked out the window and saw the train derailment.'
'I was asleep and I woke up when the car started rolling several times,' said a bloody Joe Zaritsky. 'Then I saw the gravel coming at me, and I heard people screaming. There was smoke everywhere and debris. People were thrown to the other side of the train.'
When the train went over and slammed into the ground, all of the track bed debris came up through the train windows and covered passengers in dust a witness told WABC, which said she looked like she was covered in soot.
The accident happened at roughly the same spot as a trash train derailment in July. Officials indicated they are not sure if the previously repaired tracks were to blame for this incident.
The Hudson Line runs along the Hudson River for the majority of its roughly 80-mile stretch, it is one of the busiest commuter lines into the United States’ busiest train terminal.
An advisory posted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority advised that ‘Hudson Line Customers will experience indefinite delays south of Croton Harmon.’
A separate notice from city government advised that alternate transportation is being arranged in the area.
Amtrak trains also run along the line and split off just before the scene of the accident.
The train operator said Empire service was halted between New York City and Albany after the derailment. Amtrak said its Northeast Corridor service between Boston and Washington was unaffected.
Source : BBC , CNN , DailyMail
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