Washington (AFP)

At least three people were killed and many more injured in a train derailment Saturday in the US state of Montana, rescuers dispatched to the scene working to evacuate passengers and crew.

Eight of the ten cars on the Amtrak public railroad train derailed around 4:00 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. GMT) near Joplin, a small town near the border with Canada in northern Montana, according to the company.

She said about 141 passengers and 16 crew members were on board the train that ran from Chicago to Seattle.

"We are deeply saddened to learn that local authorities are now confirming the deaths of three people as a result of this accident," the company said, also reporting "several injuries" among passengers and crew. .

Amtrak said it has dispatched teams to the scene who "are working with local authorities to transport injured passengers and safely evacuate all other passengers."

The causes of the accident were not clear at first.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a federal agency, announced on Twitter that it had opened an investigation,

Video footage posted to social media and disseminated by local media showed people waiting near the tracks, luggage strewn beside them, watching derailed cars, at least one of which overturned on its side.

- "More than 50 injured" -

Montana Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Amanda Frickel told the New York Times that "more than 50 people have been injured."

She said rescue teams were on site and several hospitals - as well as medical helicopters - were on standby.

"All the people alive were taken from the carcass" of the train, she added.

Montana Senator Jon Tester has indicated that he is following the case. "My thoughts are with all passengers, crew and first responders at the scene," he said.

After the crash, Amtrak announced the cancellation of several trains on Saturday, including between the states of North Dakota and Montana.

The US rail network suffers from chronic underfunding and fatal accidents occur regularly.

In February 2018, two people were killed and 70 injured in a collision between two trains, one carrying 147 people and the other freight, in South Carolina (southeast).

This collision occurred a few days after an accident between a train in which Republican elected officials were traveling and a truck in Virginia (south-east), which left one dead and six injured.

In December 2017, three people were killed in a derailment in Northwestern Washington State, which tipped several cars off a bridge over a highway.

But the worst rail disaster in fifty years dates back to October 1972, when two commuter trains collided in Chicago, killing 45 and injuring more than 330.

© 2021 AFP