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May 19, 2013

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60 injured as US commuter trains crash

TWO trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in an accident that sent more than 60 people to hospital, severely damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the congested Northeast Corridor of the United States.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said five people were critically injured and one was very critically hurt in Friday evening's crash near Fairfield, Connecticut, on the Metro-North Railroad, which serves the northern suburbs of New York City.

Passengers described a chaotic, terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies. "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," Lola Oliver, 49, of Bridgeport, said. "It happened so fast I had no idea what was going on."

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Station to New Haven derailed about 6:10pm just outside Bridgeport, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Bridgeport officials said.

The train was hit by another heading west from New Haven to Grand Central on an adjacent track, MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said. Some cars on the second train also derailed as a result of the collision.

The nursing supervisor at St Vincent Medical Center said early yesterday that more than 40 people had been seen and that five patients remained there, including one in critical condition.

Bridgeport Hospital spokesman John Cappiello said about 14 people were still being seen, with two in critical condition.

Malloy said there was extensive damage to the train cars and the track, and it could take until tomorrow for normal service to be restored. Amtrak, which uses the same rails, suspended service indefinitely between New York and Boston.






 

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