6 Killed, 76 Wounded in US’s Worst Metrorail Mishap
In the most gruesome accident in US’s 33 year history of Metrorail, a transit train rammed into the rear of another at the height of the capital city during rush hour when it dived violently into the air and fell atop the first, killing at least six people and wounding at least 76 others.
In the horriplating mishap, bogies of both trains were ripped open and smashed together. Washington fire spokesman Alan Etter said crews had to cut some people out of what he described as a “mass casualty event.”
While rescuing the survivors, rescue workers propped steel ladders up to the upper train to help them rush to safety. Seats from the smashed cars spilled out onto the track
According to Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, death of six was confirmed. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said that rescue workers treated 76 people at the scene and referred some of them to local hospitals, six with critical injuries. A search for further victims continued into the night.
A Metro official said that among dead was the female operator of trailing train. However, her name was not immediately released.
The crash took place around 0230 IST on the system’s red line, Metro’s busiest, which runs below ground for much of its length but is at ground level at the accident site near the Maryland border in northeast Washington.
