Few other details are available, except that the collison happened at approximately 5:45p.m. EST. ENN is following the story and will provide more details soon. (c) EmergencyNet News Service, 1996, All Rights reserved.
EmergencyNet News Service
By: Clark Staten
"We grabbed two or three of the more severely injured and immediately loaded them into ambulances," volunteer firefighter Brian Hall told reporters shortly after the accident. "The people were frantically yelling..because of the tremendous shock of what had happened...several of them panicked", Hall continued. Firefighters said that they transported at least 21 people to Suburban Hospital in Silver Spring and Holy Cross Hospital in Bethesda. Some of the victims were said to have suffered smoke inhalation, and others had bumps, bruises, and broken bones.
Neighbors said that they heard a large explosion and then saw a "fireball" engulf the front of one train as the two trains impacted. Large amounts of smoke quickly filled the residential neighborhood surrounding the tracks. An unidentified eyewitness said that she heard the collision from three blocks away and immediately ran to the scene to see what was the matter. When she arrived, she said that the scene was "total chaos" and that smoke, fire, and screaming people were "everywhere". The woman said that many of the Amtrak passengers exited the train by themselves, but that the people on the commuter train weren't so lucky.
According to an Amtrak spokesperson, Cliff Black, only ten people on the Amtrak train received minor injuries. All of the dead and seriously injured were reportedly on the MARC train, which according to at least one witness, may have been stopped at the time of the impact. A Montgomery County administrator said that several bodies are still on or in the wreckage of the MARC cars and may not be moved until the local and state police, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have had an opportunity to begin their preliminary investigation into the crash.
No cause for the calamity has yet been established. The "black boxes" that contain details of the motion, speed, and operating procedures taken were removed from one of the trains at about 11:00p.m. this evening and have been turned over to the NTSB for evaluation. Montgomery County Police would not speculate in regard to any of the other details surrounding the tragedy. An officer told ENN that "it is entirely too early to tell anything about what caused this tragedy...but I can assure you, we'll get to the bottom of it."
(c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1996
All rights reserved, except as assigned.
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