New York (Online): A New York commuter train derailed on Wednesday during the morning rush at a station in Brooklyn, leaving more than 100 people with mostly minor injuries and sparking travel delays, officials said.
The accident at Atlantic Terminal in the heart of the New York borough comes less than four months after a fatal crash on another commuter line in New Jersey, when a train derailed as it entered a station.
On Wednesday, a Long Island Rail Road train crashed around 8:30 am (1330 GMT).
Passengers rushed out as smoke filled the tunnel. The impact bent the train’s doors and smashed windows.
Some of the injured were brought out on stretchers. Officials — visibly relieved the toll was not higher — said they were launching an investigation.
The New York Fire Department said in a tweet, “103 injuries reported at scene of Atlantic Terminal LIRR train derailment, all non-life-threatening.”
A fire department official said the train carried 500 to 600 people, and the first two train cars were seriously damaged.
The official said, “We were lucky, it could have been quite a bit worse.”
At least 11 people were taken to hospital, and were unable to walk, he added.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo explained that the train was supposed to stop at a bumper but failed to do so, moving a few feet past it. He said the most serious injury was a possible broken leg.
He further stated, “First concern is (for) the people on the train. There were a number of minor injuries.”
“What happened with the operator, we don’t know. And obviously there will be an investigation to find out exactly what happened, why the operator didn’t stop the train before it hit the bumper block.”
New York’s emergency notification system warned of traffic and transit delays and road closures in the area.
An investigation into that incident, in which the train entered the station at an unusually high speed, is ongoing.
