3 people died Monday when a long-distance train collided with a garbage truck in the US state of Missouri, leaving multiple injuries among some 200 passengers, local officials said.
“There are multiple injuries and we can confirm there were three fatalities — two on the train and one in the dump truck,” Justin Dunn, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told reporters at a press conference.
The Amtrak train, traveling on a route from Los Angeles to Chicago, struck a dump truck at a public rail crossing in the area of Mendon, Missouri.
“There are approximately 243 passengers onboard with early reports of injuries,” the company said in a statement, adding that it had dispatched employees to assist local authorities in the response.
Images shared on social media showed at least five railcars on their side in a corn field, with passengers climbing out the windows and doors.
AFP was not able to immediately confirm the authenticity of the images.
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The derailment comes one day after another Amtrak-operated train collided with a passenger vehicle at a railroad crossing in California, resulting in three deaths.
The crossing involved did not have guards, and a local fire official said it was not uncommon to have accidents there, the local NBC affiliate reported.
