A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will arrive in Missouri early Tuesday to investigate the derailment of an Amtrak train that killed at least three people and injured more than 50 others.
According to the agency’s chair Jennifer Homendy, speed data on the route, data recorder information and camera footage from Amtrak will be requested by a “Go Team” of 16 investigators.
The derailment occurred when the train was traveling eastbound to Chicago. The train collided with a dump truck at a crossing near the town of Mendon in north-central Missouri. Amtrak said that eight of the train’s cars and two locomotives left the track.
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According to preliminary reports, the crossing was “uncontrolled,” meaning there were no lights or mechanized arms.
Two of the people who were killed were aboard the train while the third was in a dump truck, said Cpl. Justin Dunn, a spokesperson for Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop B.
At least 50 people were injured in the derailment, Chariton County Ambulance Service Director Eric McKenzie told CNN.
Approximately 275 passengers and 12 crew members were on board, Amtrak said in its statement.
The NTSB team will include “specialists from mechanical, from signal systems, from operations and survival factors. We’ll have a highway person, a drone operator, and some team members from NTSB’s Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance to work with survivors and families of those who were involved in the derailment,” Homendy said.
Amtrak officials released a statement Monday, expressing that they were “deeply saddened” over the loss of life and injures.
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“Amtrak is working with local authorities to make sure those who are injured get medical care and everyone else receives services and transportation. We are grateful for the support from the local authorities who provided assistance and resources for our customers and employees,” the statement said.
This was the second incident in two days. On Sunday, 85 passengers were on board a train in rural California that hit a vehicle. Three people were killed and two people suffered major injuries.