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Dozens hurt in NY train crash

May 18, 2013

Dozens of commuters aboard a train in the northeast US have been taken to the hospital following a collision. Officials do not know what caused the accident.

https://p.dw.com/p/18aKq
Emergency workers arrive at the scene of a train collision, Friday, May 17, 2013 in Fairfield, Conn. Two Metro North commuter trains serving New York City collided during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five with critical injuries, Gov. Dannel Malloy said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham

On Saturday morning, local hospitals were treating at least 60 injured passengers from a commuter train accident the evening before. The collision occurred between New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, during rush hour when an eastbound train derailed, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"The head end of both trains, the front end of both trains, collided and received sustained damage ... But it was not a full head-on collision," MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said.

Emergency services had transported at least 30 patients to St. Vincent Medical Center and at least 25 to Bridgeport Hospital.

"There are five people in critical condition, one in very critical condition," Connecticut governor Dan Malloy wrote on Twitter.

Witnesses on board described their horror during the accident.

"All I know was I was in the air, hitting seats, bouncing around, flying down the aisle and finally I came to a stop on one seat," Bridgeport resident Lola Oliver told news agency The Associated Press. "It happened so fast I had no idea what was going on."

"There was smoke. People were screaming, people were really nervous. We were pretty shaken up. They had to smash a window to get us out," passenger Alex Cohen to a local television station affiliated with the US National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Cohen was on board the west-bound train heading for New York.

Officials ordered an investigation, but by Saturday morning still did not know what had caused the crash.

Following the crash, Amtrak, which uses the same lines, suspended service on its New York City-Boston line indefinitely.

kms/hc (Reuters, AP, AFP)