Train 'derails following collision’ in California, injuring 27

A light rail train has derailed in northern California, injuring more than two dozen people, authorities said.

The accident, which took place late on Thursday night, left 27 people injured including 13 people transported to trauma hospitals, Sacramento Fire Captain Keith Wade told news outlets.

The remaining patients were treated at the scene and released.

More than 40 firefighters were called to the scene along with 15 ambulances.

Mr Wade said it was the first time in his 19 years on the job that he’s seen such a high number of casualties in a train accident.

Several news outlets quoted Sacramento Regional Transit spokesperson as saying the train had derailed after a collision between a passenger and a maintenance train, but authorities are still investigating the cause.

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Later reports suggested all carriages had remained on the tracks, but descriptions from passengers and bystanders pointed to a collision.

“I was sitting there on the train listening to music and boom…that fast, just flipped over the top of my bike, hit the ground,” passenger Thumper Eby told local media.

“The guy in front of me hit the bench in front so hard his leg opened all the way across,” Eby said. “That was it, then the train car was black … we smelled brakes … I guess the other train was stopped on the tracks for some reason. I have no idea.”

Anthony Hernandez told CBS Sacramento he heard a collision which “rattled the houses” while putting his children to bed.

“We could see right out of our front window that there had been a collision between two light rail cars on the tracks.”

Additional reporting by AP

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