Hoboken train crash: 'Three dead' and more than 100 injured after NJ Transit train jumps off track

Officials say they don't yet know the cause but initial indications do not suggest terrorism

Samuel Osborne
Thursday 29 September 2016 15:05 BST
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Video shows aftermath of Hoboken crash

More than 100 people have been injured and at least one person has died after a commuter train crashed into a station in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The crash happened at about 8:30am. Passengers described how the train failed to slow down as it approached the end of the line.

MSNBC reported three people had been killed, citing medical officials.

Photographs from the scene show damage to the rail car and extensive structural damage to Hoboken station, which would have been crowded with rush-hour commuters.

Images posted on social media show a train that appears to have gone through the buffers stop at the end of the track.

A New Jersey Transit spokeswoman said that more than 100 people had been injured, some critically.

A senior transportation official told The New York Times there had been multiple fatalities: “There are a significant number of injuries. The train was going very fast. There are structural concerns about the facility.“

Linda Albelli, 62, told Reuters she was sitting in one of the rear cars when the train approached the station. She said she knew something was wrong before impact.

"I thought to myself, 'Oh my god, he's not slowing up, and this is where we're usually stop,'" she said. "'We're going too fast,' and with that there was this tremendous crash."

One witness said the train was travelling so fast it rose into the air as it it hit a concrete buffer, smashing into the terminal's roof, bringing down the structure on to the first train car.

Nancy Bido, a passenger on the train, told WNBC-TV in New York that train did not slow as it pulled into the station.

"It just never stopped. It was going really fast and the terminal was basically the brake for the train," she said.

Law enforcement agencies told NBC News that initial indications did not suggest the crash was an act of terrorism, but may have been an accident or the result of operator error.

The US has a notoriously poor rail safety record. The state of the country's crumbling infrastructure has been an election issue throughout the 2016 campaign, as both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton describe how they would increase investment.

Hoboken lies across the Hudson River from New York city, and its Transit station is a major hub for commuters.

The National Transportation Safety Board will open an investigation into the crash and will send a team of investigators to the scene, said Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the board.

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