SAN FRANCISCO, 19 December (BelTA - Xinhua) - At least three people were killed and more than 100 others injured Monday when a train run by intercity rail operator Amtrak derailed on its first run along a new route in Pierce County in the U.S. state of Washington, local media reported.
The Amtrak 501, carrying 77 passengers and six crew members, was heading south from Seattle when 13 of its 14 cars jumped tracks near Tacoma, a city in Pierce on the West Coast, with some cars falling off a bridge.
The train was making its first run along a new route with the tracks first put to public use after weeks of inspection and testing, the county sheriff's department said.
TV footage showed several cars fell off a bridge over a traffic-clogged highway.
The sheriff's department said earlier Monday that some motor vehicles and two semi trucks were hit on the freeway below, but no motorist fatalities were reported.
An investigation was ordered even as rescuers were trying to remove the overturned cars.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said a 20-member team of investigators will arrive at the scene.
