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Latest: Washington, DC Mayor Says 7 Killed in Metro Train Crash

June 23, 2009

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Authorities in Washington, D.C., say seven people are confirmed dead in Monday's crash of a subway train into another train.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said authorities are still treating the scene as a rescue operation that will go on all day, and that officials will have an update later in the day.

What happened?

The crash took place near an above-ground train station in northeast Washington.

City and transit officials say a train rear-ended another train that had stopped on the tracks. The impact was so hard the lead car of the moving train was sliced open, vaulted into the air and landed on top of the rear car of the other train.

The female operator of the moving train is among the dead. Officials say at least 70 passengers were injured, including at least six in critical condition. Mayor Fenty called the crash the worst in the system's 33-year history.

Obama offers condolences

U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, issued a statement Monday night expressing their condolences to the victims.

Mr. Obama praised the hundreds of police, firefighters and emergency medical teams who responded immediately to the crash to save lives. They were forced to cut through the twisted metal of the subway cars to reach passengers who had been trapped in the wreckage.

The federal government's National Transportation Safety Board and teams of FBI agents also were on hand, searching for clues about the cause of the crash. Crews are searching for devices on both trains that record their speed and other operating details.

VOA News