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Washington train crash: Deaths as rail carriages fall on US motorway

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Washington train crash: Deaths as rail carriages fall on US motorway

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Media captionPassenger describes the train crash: 'We could feel cars crumpling'

Train carriages have plummeted on to a motorway in Washington state, causing "multiple" fatalities, police say.

The train derailed and the carriages fell on to the I-5 highway below.

Images from the scene show emergency services treating people on the ground. It appears that at least four carriages have left the track; one of them is upside down on the highway.

Several cars on the highway were struck by the derailed carriages, the Pierce County Sheriff's department says.

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Sheriff department spokesman Ed Troyer said that there were "multiple" fatalities on the train, but no motorists had been killed.

The fire department had taken many people out of the train and they had been taken to hospitals, he added.

Image copyright Washington State Patrol
Image caption One carriage was hanging from the tracks, while another was upside down

Passenger Chris Karnes, on board the train, said the carriage he was on careened down an embankment then came to a stop: "We could hear and feel the cars crumpling and breaking apart, and water came out from the ceiling."

"In order to get out… we had to kick out the emergency window," he said.

Amtrak said that there were approximately 78 passengers and five crew members on board the train.

The incident happened near DuPont, which is southwest of Tacoma.

Officials have set up a family reunification centre at DuPont city hall, and asked people not to come to the scene of the crash.

The was the first time an Amtrak train carrying passengers southbound had run on a new section of track running parallel to I-5, called the Point Defiance Bypass.

The crash occurred around 07:30 (15:30 GMT), about 45 minutes into train 501's journey between Portland and Seattle.

Image copyright Washington Transporation Board
Image caption All traffic on I-5 has been stopped

Before the crash, it was travelling at more than 80mph (130km/h).

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Skip Twitter post by @PierceSheriff

Photos from scene of amtrak passenger train derailment pic.twitter.com/gd09MzLCC6

— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) December 18, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @PierceSheriff

Skip Twitter post by @wsdot_tacoma

All SB lanes of I-5 blocked near Mounts Road in Pierce County due to derailed train car. Avoid area! pic.twitter.com/SBH7dCc6yg

— WSDOT Tacoma Traffic (@wsdot_tacoma) December 18, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @wsdot_tacoma

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Source – bbc.com

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