Train derails in US; At least three killed, many injured
Joplin (US)(AP): At least three people were killed Saturday afternoon when an Amtrak train that runs between Seattle and Chicago derailed in north-central Montana, an official with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office said.
Dispatcher Starr Tyler told The Associated Press that three people died in the derailment. She did not have more details. Amtrak said in a statement that there were multiple injuries.
The Empire Builder train derailed about 4 p.m. near Joplin, a town of about 200, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement. The accident scene is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of Helena and about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the border with Canada.
The train had about 146 passengers and 16 crew members onboard, Abrams said.
The train consisted of two locomotives and 10 cars, with seven of those cars derailing, he said.
Megan Vandervest, a passenger on the train who was going to visit a friend in Seattle, told The New York Times that she was awakened by the derailment.
My first thought was that we were derailing because, to be honest, I have anxiety and I had heard stories about trains derailing, said Vandervest, who is from Minneapolis. My second thought was that's crazy. We wouldn't be derailing. Like, that doesn't happen.
She told the Times that the car behind hers was tilted over, the one behind that was entirely tipped over, and the three cars behind that had completely fallen off the tracks and were detached from the train.
Speaking from the Liberty County Senior Center, where passengers were being taken, Vandervest said it felt like extreme turbulence on a plane.
Amtrak was working with the local authorities to transport injured passengers and safely evacuate all other passengers, Abrams added.
The National Transportation Safety Board will send a 14-member team, including investigators and specialists in railroad signals and other disciplines, to investigate the crash, spokesman Eric Weiss said.
Five Amtrak cars derailed around 3:55 pm. Mountain Daylight Time and no other trains or equipment were involved, Weiss said. The train was traveling on a BNSF Railroad main track at the time, he said.
Photos posted to social media showed several cars on their sides. Passengers were standing alongside the tracks, some carrying luggage.
The images showed sunny skies, and it appeared the accident occurred along a straight section of tracks.
Amtrak said that because of the derailment, the Sunday westbound Empire Builder will terminate in Minneapolis, and the Sunday eastbound Empire Builder train will originate in Minneapolis.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Four arrested, minor detained for killing teenager in UP's Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur (UP)(PTI) Police on Tuesday arrested four persons and detained a boy in connection with the killing of a teenager at a school here, officials said.
The arrested accused have been identified as Dayanand alias Chhotu, Hrithik Roshan alias Roshan, Uday alias Kishan Kumar and Deepak, all residents of Pipraich police station area here and aged 19-20, the police officials said.
The detained minor will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, they said.
Police recovered a country-made pistol and a motorcycle allegedly used by the accused in the commission of the crime, they added.
Superintendent of Police (North) Gyanendra Nath Prasad said the arrests were made following sustained investigation and technical surveillance, and further legal proceedings were underway.
According to police, Sudhir Bharti (17), a class 11 student, was shot dead by the accused on December 26 over old enmity and a dispute triggered by social media posts in the playground of a school in the Pipraich area here.
Based on the complaint filed by Bharti's family, a case was registered under sections 103(1) (punishment for murder) and 61(2) (party to a criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Arms Act.
According to eyewitnesses, Bharti was in the playground when he had an argument with a person from the same neighbourhood.
The argument escalated and the accused shot him with a country-made pistol, killing him on the spot, they said.
