Residents of communities near the crash site quickly mobilized to help the passengers.Ĭhester Councilwoman Rachel Ghekiere said she and others helped about 50 to 60 passengers who were brought to a local school. Speaking from the Liberty County Senior Center, where some passengers were being taken, Vandervest said it felt like “extreme turbulence on a plane.” She told the Times that the car behind hers was tilted, the one behind that was tipped over, and the three cars behind that “had completely fallen off the tracks and were detached from the train.” “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. Megan Vandervest, a passenger who was going to visit a friend in Seattle, told the New York Times that she was awakened by the derailment. The westbound Empire Builder originates in Chicago and makes several stops in Minnesota, including in St. “We are deeply saddened to learn local authorities are now confirming that three people have lost their lives as a result of this accident,” Abrams said. The train had two locomotives and 10 cars, eight of which derailed, he said. The train had about 141 passengers and 16 crew members onboard, Abrams said. Amtrak said in a statement that there were multiple injuries.
Liberty County sheriff's dispatcher Starr Tyler told the Associated Press that three people died in the derailment. The derailment scene is about 150 miles northeast of Helena and about 30 miles from the border with Canada.
near Joplin, a town of about 200, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement.
The westbound Empire Builder train derailed about 4 p.m. At least three people died Saturday when an Amtrak train that runs from Chicago and the Twin Cities to Seattle derailed in north-central Montana, toppling several cars onto their sides, authorities said.