The Pierce County Police Department has reported that several people have died in the Amtrak derailment in Washington State Monday morning, in addition to numerous injuries.
“There have been multiple casualties as a result of the Amtrak derailment near Tacoma, Washington,” Pierce County police spokesperson Ed Troyer told NBC News.
“The casualties include multiple injuries and fatalities.”
The Amtrak train was traveling between Seattle and Portland when it derailed at about 7:40 a.m. Monday morning, the first day Amtrak rolled out a new high-speed service for that route.
LIVE: Amtrak train derails in Washington state; multiple deaths reported https://yhoo.it/2BsuCCx
Posted by Yahoo News on Monday, December 18, 2017
A section of the train fell from an overpass and plunged into the Interstate 5 freeway during the morning rush hour.
A Seattle-based reporter posted a tweet Monday, saying that he had disembarked from the train just ten minutes before it derailed.
BREAKING: Sound Transit confirms for me the train that derailed was Amtrak 501. This is the very first day for the early service. I was on that exact train this morning. We got off 10 minutes before the derailment.
— Alex Rozier (@AlexRozierK5) December 18, 2017
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Monday was the first day of a new high-speed service on that Amtrak route, and city officials had previously said they were concerned that the service was not safe and could cause accidents.
Authorities have not released the identities of the dead or injured. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
[Feature image: Pierce County Police]
