Three people were killed and at least 50 were injured Monday when an Amtrak train struck a dump truck and derailed in Chariton County, Missouri.
According to Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Justin Dunn, two people on the train died and another died in the truck. Southwest Chief Train 4 crashed about 12: 45 p.m. local time in the rural area of Mendon, Missouri, which is located about 100 miles east of Kansas City.
There were about 243 passengers and 12 crew members on board the full train from Los Angeles to Chicago. In a press release, Amtrak said that eight train cars and two locomotives had derailed.
Rescue helicopters were reported to have been deployed to help the injured.
It started to rock and then to flicker, and then it just all of a sudden all this dust was through my window. A spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol said authorities are still trying to gather information about the deaths and injuries.
Amtrak said emergency personnel were on the scene to help passengers, employees and their families. Any individuals with questions about their friends and family who were traveling aboard the train should call 800 - 523 - 9101. Mike Parson described the accident as a bad scene. We are saddened by the Amtrak train derailment in Chariton County this afternoon. We ask Missourians to join in praying for all those impacted by the train, said Parson on Twitter.
Three people died and two were injured in the crash in Missouri after a fatal train crash Sunday in Brentwood, California. The vehicle that obstructed rail tracks was involved in the crash of Brentwood.