An Amtrak train carrying more than 200 passengers derailed in northern Missouri on Monday (June 27) after hitting a dump truck at an uncontrolled crossing, killing two aboard and a person in the truck, and injuring at least 50, officials said.
Footage taken by eyewitness Dax McDonald showed passengers standing inside a train carriage lying sideways, with windows facing skyward and suitcases lying haphazardly on top of doors as they scrambled to exit.
"We started looking for a possible way out and found the only way to be up. The left side of the train had emergency exits which were now 10 feet above us. My sister and I climbed up," said McDonald, adding that locals brought ladders to help them descend from the top of the train. They and other passengers were subsequently brought to a high school for shelter.
Eight cars and two locomotives derailed, Amtrak said, leaving all but one car lying on its side along the track surrounded by grass and farmland near the rural town of Mendon. A police spokesperson said the collision occurred at an uncontrolled crossing without lights or signals.
