Three people were killed when an Amtrak train hit a dump truck and derailed Monday afternoon in Mendon, Missouri, officials said.
According to an Amtrak statement, there were reports of injuries aboard Train 4 after “several cars derailed”. The train was carrying 243 passengers and 12 crew members en route from Los Angeles to Chicago.
The crash happened around 12:45 a.m., Amtrak said. Mendon is located about 115 miles northeast of Kansas City.
Two people from the train were killed in addition to one person who was in the dump truck, Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Justin Dunn said Monday.
Dunn had no tally of the injured, although he noted that several others had been taken to area hospitals.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol tweeted that about eight trains were derailed, with multiple agencies providing assistance on the spot. Amtrak said two locomotives also derailed.
Video of NBC affiliate KOMU showed train cars completely off the rails and lying on their sides. On social media of the accident, passengers appeared to crawl out of the side windows to escape the wreckage.
Government Mike Parson tweeted that the Missouri Department of Public Safety, highway patrol and other personnel responded.
“We are saddened to hear of the Amtrak train derailment in Chariton County this afternoon … We ask the residents of Missouri to join us in praying for everyone involved,” Parson said.
To speak for reporters on MondayParson called the crash “a bad scene”.
“It’s a terrible situation. I do know that several cars have derailed. We think there could be deaths,” he said.
“It’s very annoying when a train and several cars derail – it’s not a good day.”
Monday’s derailment marks the second consecutive day that an Amtrak train was involved in a serious accident.
Three people were killed and two others were injured after an Amtrak train crashed into a vehicle blocking the track near Brentwood, Calif., on Sunday, officials said.
This is a story in development, check back for updates.
Gemma DiCasimirro and Dennis Romero contributedâ€