Multiple people have died and were injured in an accident involving an Amtrak train being derailed in Washington state.
At around 7:40 a.m. on Monday, the Amtrak Cascades train that was headed from Seattle to Portland, OR derailed nearby the city of DuPont. One of the cars fell onto Interstate 5 and another swayed over the road from the track. Thirteen out of 14 total train cars were derailed.
The Associated Press is reporting that there are at least six dead, although officials have stated that there is no official death toll as of yet. An estimated 77 people have been taken to the hospital for injuries; at least four of them are considered to be serious.
A number of the injuries came from the fallen train car hitting five vehicles.
“The people that were in all the vehicles, even though when you see the pictures, it’s pretty horrific, at this point nobody in any of the vehicles is a fatal,” Detective Ed Troy told NBC News. “The fatals are all contained to the train.”
A total of 83 people were on the train, five of whom were crew members and 78 were passengers.
President Trump issued a couple of tweets about it:
The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the train accident in DuPont, Washington. Thank you to all of our wonderful First Responders who are on the scene. We are currently monitoring here at the White House.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2017
Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency in response to the accident.
The derailment occurred on a route that became operational on Monday as part of a project to install a quicker route. The train was going at around 70-80 miles per hour on a curve in which the train was supposed to be going only 30 miles per hour, although it’s not clear if that was the reason for the derailment.
I-5 is expected to be closed through at least Monday night.
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