An Amtrak accident left three people dead and several more injured near Mendon, Missouri, authorities said Monday.
The train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it hit a dump truck on Porche Prairie Avenue at 12:42 p.m. causing it to derail eight cars and two locomotives in Chariton County, Amtrak announced in a statement. There were an estimated 243 passengers and 12 crew members onboard at the time, according to the Kansas City Star.
“Our Incident Response Team has been activated, and we are deploying emergency personnel to the scene to help support our passengers, our employees and their families with their needs,” Amtrak said.
The MSHP & numerous other agencies have responded to an injury traffic crash involving a train & a dump truck southwest of Mendon, MO in Chariton County. Approximately 8 train cars have derailed. Local & surrounding agencies are on scene providing mutual aid assistance. https://t.co/QQc2RdXZNG
— MSHP Troop B (@MSHPTrooperB) June 27, 2022
Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Dunn said during a press conference that authorities arrived at the scene at 1:02 p.m. He confirmed that two people died on the train and one in the dump truck. Several agencies arrived at the scene and discovered multiple victims, he said. (RELATED: Elderly Couple Killed In Fiery Train Crash On Way Home From Thanksgiving Dinner)
Update on the fatal crash involving Amtrak train and truck.
>> This investigation is in its preliminary stages and as more information becomes available it will be provided. pic.twitter.com/RQZyfvHqLz
— MSHP Troop B (@MSHPTrooperB) June 27, 2022
Agencies responding to the scene included the Chariton County, Linn County, Macon County and Randolph County Sheriff’s Offices and at least seven other departments, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement.
Lt. Eric Brown said at the conference he had “no idea on the number injured at this point.” A total of nine victims are currently hospitalized at the University of Missouri Healthcare in Columbia, the hospital said in a statement.
Brown said the investigation is in the “preliminary stages” and more information will be released in coming days. The National Transportation Safety Board announced the launch of a 14 member go-team to investigate the incident.