The 7 car, Empire Builder train was traveling from Chicago to Seattle when the Amtrak train derailed at 4 p.m. near Joplin, Montana. Joplin has a population of 218
The following written content from Mark Osborne
At least three people are dead after an Amtrak train derailed in remote northern Montana on Saturday.
The rail line confirmed there were injuries in the accident, but offered no more details.
The three deaths were confirmed by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department. Officials did not say how many total were injured.
There were approximately 146 passengers and 16 crew members on board the train, Amtrak said. The train was traveling from Chicago to Seattle.
Several passengers on the train shared images of the front cars off the track, with some tipped on their sides.
Amtrak said in a statement that anyone with questions about friends or family who were traveling on the derailed train should call 800-523-9101.
It was not immediately clear what caused the derailment.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is launching a “go team” to investigate the derailment.
Liberty County is an extremely rural part of northern Montana, with only a few thousand residents despite being larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
Great Falls is the largest nearby city, about 100 miles south of Joplin. Read more from ABC
The following written content from Amy Hanson and Tarek Hamada
Residents of communities near the crash site quickly mobilized to help the passengers.
Chester Councilwoman Rachel Ghekiere said she and others helped about 50 to 60 passengers who were brought to a local school.
“I went to the school and assisted with water, food, wiping dirt off faces,” she said. “They appeared to be tired, shaken but happy that they were where they were. Some looked more disheveled than others, depending where they were on the train.”
A grocery store in Chester, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the derailment, and a nearby religious community provided food, she said.
The passengers were taken by buses to hotels in nearby Shelby, said Ghekiere, whose husband works for the local emergency services agency and was alerted to the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board will send a 14-member team, including investigators and specialists in railroad signals and other disciplines, to investigate the crash, spokesman Eric Weiss said.
Weiss said the derailment occurred around 3:55 p.m. and no other trains or equipment were involved. The train was traveling on a BNSF Railway main track at the time, he said.
Photos posted to social media showed rail cars on their sides and passengers standing alongside the tracks, some carrying luggage. The images showed sunny skies, and it appeared the accident occurred along a straight section of tracks.
Amtrak said that because of the derailment, the Sunday westbound Empire Builder will terminate in Minneapolis, and the Sunday eastbound Empire Builder train will originate in Minneapolis. Read more from KIRO7
Subscribe here
