Minst två döda när persontåg krockat med godståg, USA-SC [2018-02-04]

Två tåg har kolliderat i South Carolina i USA, rapporterar NBC News.

Olyckan inträffade då ett passagerartåg på väg mellan New York och Miami, med 139 passagerare och 8 besättningsmän, krockade med ett frakttåg.

A train carrying 139 passengers has collided with a freight train in the US state of South Carolina, killing two people, local police say.

The train's lead engine and several passenger carriages derailed in the crash, Amtrak said in a statement.

Eight staff members were also on board the train, which was operating between New York and Miami.

An Amtrak train carrying 147 people has collided with a goods train in the US state of South Carolina, killing two people and injuring 116 others.

The two fatalities were both members of Amtrak staff, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has confirmed.
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Mr McMaster said 116 people were taken to hospital for treatment. An emergency official earlier told reporters the injuries ranged in severity from small scratches to broken bones.
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According to Amtrak, 139 passengers and eight staff members were aboard the train. According to Governor McMaster, no-one was aboard the goods train, run by freight operator CSX. He said it was stationary on track at the time of the crash.

The two victims were later identified as Amtrak personnel. Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said 54-year-old engineer Michael Kempf and 32-year-old conductor Michael Sella were killed in the collision.
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The crash happened near a switchyard where railcars hauling automobiles are loaded and unloaded.

Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said investigators found a switch had been set in a position that forced the Amtrak train off the main track and onto the siding. He said the question for investigators is why that happened.
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Amtrak President Richard Anderson appeared to point the finger at CSX, saying the signal system run by the freight railroad at that spot was down at the time, and CSX dispatchers were manually routing trains. The NTSB said it was working to confirm that.
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Sumwalt said that positive train control -- a GPS-based safety system that can automatically slow or stop trains -- could have prevented the accident.
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The switch that triggered the crash was padlocked in position, which conductors are supposed to do when they move a train from one line to another, Sumwalt said.