Updated: 20.10
A NEW YORK commuter train derailed during the morning rush at a station in Brooklyn, leaving more than 100 people with mostly minor injuries and sparking travel delays.
The accident at Atlantic Terminal in the heart of the New York borough comes less than four months after a fatal crash on another commuter line in New Jersey, when a train derailed as it entered a station.
Passengers rushed out as smoke filled the tunnel and the impact bent the train’s doors and smashed windows.
Some of the injured were brought out on stretchers.
“103 injuries reported at scene of Atlantic Terminal LIRR train derailment, all non-life-threatening,” the New York Fire Department said in a tweet.
A fire department official said the train carried 500 to 600 people, and the first two train cars were seriously damaged.
“We were lucky, it could have been quite a bit worse,” the official said.
At least 11 people were taken to hospital, and were unable to walk, he added.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo explained that the train was supposed to stop at a bumper but failed to do so, moving a few feet past it. He said the most serious injury was a possible broken leg.
“First concern is (for) the people on the train. There were a number of minor injuries,” he told reporters.
What happened with the operator, we don’t know. And obviously there will be an investigation to find out exactly what happened, why the operator didn’t stop the train before it hit the bumper block.
Explaining why it was difficult to pinpoint exactly how many people were injured, Cuomo added: “They were standing and they were getting ready to get off the train.
“The train has a sudden stop, they’re not prepared for the sudden stop. They get knocked around, banged around, they hurt an arm, they hurt a leg.”
The New York Post reports that the train derailed on Track 6 at the station when it slammed into a bumper block as it entered.
Videos and images from the scene show paramedics and firefighters helping passengers at the scene. People were said to be feeling shaken after the derailment, but no serious injuries were reported.
With reporting by AFP and Garreth MacNamee
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