Seven cars on a Chicago-bound Amtrak passenger train derailed in southwestern Kansas early on Monday, injuring 30 people, two critically, officials said.
The coaches from Amtrak’s Southwest Chief Train 4 traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago derailed about 20 miles (32 km) west of Dodge City shortly after midnight, Amtrak said in a statement. About 128 passengers and 14 crew were aboard.
Twenty-one people were taken to Western Plains Medical Complex in Dodge City and nine were transported to St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City, Gray County spokeswoman Ashley Rogers said in an emailed statement. Two of those hospitalized were in critical condition.
Other passengers were taken to a recreation center in nearby Cimarron before being provided alternate transportation to their destinations.
Seven cars derailed, and five of them were on their sides, she said. Amtrak said the train had two locomotives and nine cars.
The accident occurred on track owned by BNSF Railway Co , according to Amtrak. The rail service said it was working with BNSF to determine the accident’s cause.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on their way to the crash site, and Federal Railroad Administration investigators were already on scene, spokesmen said.
The derailment forced the closure of U.S. Highway 50, an east-west route.
Passenger Daniel Szczerba posted pictures on Twitter showing cars lying on their sides and another leaning over. Szczerba, who wrote on Twitter that he was unhurt, also posted a short video showing the emergency response, with what appeared to be passengers or local residents milling around near the derailed cars.
One passenger’s mother told local television the derailment followed a period where the trainshook at about 75 miles per hour (121 km per hour). She said that after the accident her daughter was helped out of a coach window.