Washington derailment – as it happened: Trump responds to fatal disaster by touting infrastructure plan before sending condolences
Our coverage of the train crash over busy road in Washington State
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Your support makes all the difference.There have been a number of deaths after an Amtrak train derailed on an overpass in Washington State, according to a spokesman for the local sheriff's office
The train derailed on a bridge over a major highway in DuPont, Washington - leaving it hanging over the Interstate 5. and blocking all southbound lanes.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said it had reports of both injuries and casualties. Among the injured were motorists who had been struck by the derailed cars, none of whom were killed.
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Washington Gov Jay Inslee offered a message of support to first responders and urged commuters to avoid the area.
“This is an ongoing and serious situation,” Mr Inslee said on Twitter.
In an image shared by the Washington State Department of Transportation, a train car can be seen hanging off of the tracks and protruding into the highway. The agency noted that all southbound lanes were blocked and urged commuters to avoid the area.
President Donald Trump has responded to the Amtrak train derailment via Twitter.
Aerial footage from KIRO News shows several train cars in the woods near Interstate 5, in a shocking display of the magnitude of Monday's derailment.
Previous public photos only showed a ground-level view, in which a train car could be seen dangling from an overpass. The aerial footage shows several train cars on the other side of that bridge, lodged into the woods with a truck underneath one.
Rep. Denny Heck, of Washington, says that something "very, very wrong" to cause the Amtrak train derailment Monday.
"Unfortunately, I think the fatality count is probably going to grow as we know it over the next few days," he said.
"Something is very, very wrong and there is some questions that will demand to be answered," he continued.
The City of Lacey, Washington, says that a local hospital is requesting blood donations to help treat victims of the train derailment.
A 20-member go-team is preparing to depart from Washington, DC, to investigate the Amtrak derailment, according to CNN.
The responding team is so large because the National Transportation Safety Board considers the crash to be a "major incident".
The team members will focus on three separate areas: Human performance, mechanics of the train, and the condition of the rails and signals.
Donald Trump has tweeted a third time to address the Amtrak derailment in Washington.
Washington's Secretary of State has called on residents to give blood:
The section of track where an Amtrak train derailed had just been upgraded as part of a $181 million project for a new faster route.
Sound Transit, the public transit system for the Seattle area, owns the track and oversaw construction of the upgrades.
Agency spokeswoman Kimberly Reason said extensive testing was done before the opening of the system on Monday
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