Now that all the hot-air balloons have been tethered, the railroads are making work for fire and rescue departments.
THE CASUALTY COUNT AT THE LOS ANGELES COMMUTER TRAIN collision is now up to 17 dead and 135 injured, more than 80 critically. The toll is expected to continue rising as extrication efforts continue this morning.
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Police and firefighters stand with heads bowed as the
body of a Los Angeles Police officer who was killed
in the crash is carried from the wreckage. (AP)
Metrolink has been able to acquire a passenger count and they are saying there were 220 passengers and 2 crew members on board. Union Pacific says that they had four crew members on their train.
It is believed that the Union Pacific freight train and the Metrolink passenger train collided head-on. The speed limit on that stretch of trackage is 40 mph, so it is possible that there was an impact of up to 80 mph. The worst part of the situation is in the first passenger car where the Metrolink locomotive was shoved back into the loaded car. As one fire official stated, “We have victims on top of victims.”
The Associated Press has released this raw video showing some of the early rescue efforts:
Medic helicopters have been making continuous evacuations, flying the most critically injured to hospitals throughout the Los Angeles region. As part of the disaster response plan, surgeons have been placed on-scene in the triage area.
While Firegeezer sleeps, the newshound Dave Statter (STATter911) works the mean streets through the night and he has compiled a good collection of links, photos, videos and interviews covering the first eight hours of the operation. Make sure to check them out HERE.
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LESS THAN AN HOUR AFTER THE HORRIFIC WRECK in Chatsworth, another Metrolink train smashed into a car that was trying to beat it across the crossing.
Just after 5 pm a Metrolink commuter train was traveling through Corona when a car drove around the crossing gates instead of waiting for the train to pass. The locomotive smashed into the car, shoving it 600 feet along the track until they came to a stop.
The collision killed the woman in her 40′s who was driving the car and was the sole passenger. One train passenger required treatment for an anxiety attack, but otherwise there were no injuries on the Metrolink train.
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THE EUROTUNNEL “CHUNNEL” THAT CARRIES TRAIN TRAFFICE between France and England under the English Channel has reopened the unaffected tube for limited traffic. Around 9 pm Friday night they successfully ran two test trains through the tunnel, one passenger and one freight, and then announced that they will resume some service.
The will be giving priority to the Eurostar passenger trains and the truck-haulers such as the one that had Thursday’s fire. The shuttle trains that carry private passenger cars will not be running for a while yet. The passenger service will be limited to 12 trains a day instead of the usual 24.
BBC News has published this graphic that shows the configuration of the tunnels and the safety measures that are part of them including the emergency service tunnel that is between the rail tunnels:
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CNN has a recent news report that has some good views taken inside the emergency traffic tunnel:
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