Washington DC Metro crash: nine dead and many more injured
Washington DC Metro crash: nine dead and many more injured
Two Washington DC Metro trains crashed yesterday, killing nine passengers. A further 70 people are reported to have been injured.
The Metro accident occurred at 5pm local time yesterday evening, during Washington DC's rush hour. The Guardian reports that one of the trains had stopped when a second train crashed into it from behind.
The front end of the approaching train jack-knifed into the air and fell on top of the first, which was waiting for another train to move out of a station ahead. A spokesman for Washington's fire service described the collision as a "mass casualty event".
"Obviously something was terribly wrong for the two trains to be on the same track," said a Metro spokeswoman. The accident happened on the Metro's red line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations. The line is one of the system's busiest.
Over 200 firefighters attended the scene and cut open the cars to reach survivors. Officials have not said how fast the train was travelling, but it is believed that the crash happened in an area where trains are allowed to go at higher speeds.
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23 June 2009
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