A freight train slammed into a charter bus at a railroad crossing in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, killing four people on the bus and leaving dozens of others injured, officials said.
Officials said the tour bus, which originated in Austin, Texas, and was heading to a casino, was stopped on the tracks for an unknown reason. Witnesses told local television station WLOX it got stuck there.
Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel confirmed the crossing had signs warning of its low ground clearance, which means a large vehicle could potentially become lodged on the tracks.
But he could not say if that is what occurred, adding that the crash was under investigation.
Three people on the bus were killed in the collision and a fourth person died after being transported from the scene, Biloxi Police Chief John Miller told a news conference.
Thirty-five passengers on the bus, which was carrying more than 40 people, were transported to area hospitals and a few other passengers escaped unharmed, Miller said.
Authorities airlifted some of the most badly injured victims to area hospitals. Nine of them were in critical condition, Creel said by telephone.
The crash follows an effort by Biloxi Mayor Andrew "FoFo" Gilich to close some rail crossings, with the stated goal of improving road safety in the city with a population of 45,000 people on the Gulf of Mexico.
But this crossing at Main Street, which was the site of another wreck between a train and a delivery truck on Jan. 5 with no injuries, was not one of those selected for possible closure, Creel said.
The freight train was operated by CSX, which said in a statement its crew members on board were uninjured. The crossing has flashing lights and gates, it added.
Sue Perkins, who was in a vehicle behind the bus and witnessed the crash, told WLOX the motorcoach appeared to get stuck because it was too long for the steep angle of the hill at the crossing.
The red lights at the crossing lit up and the safety gates descended with the bus stuck on the tracks, Perkins told the station. Then she saw the train in the distance and the conductor slammed on the horn but could not stop in time, she added.
"There was a big waterfall of glass that just came out of the bus" in the accident, she told WLOX.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a message on Twitter it was gathering information about the deadly wreck.
WLOX, in broadcast footage of the accident aftermath, showed the bus standing upright, diagonally across the tracks with the train stopped at its side.
The bus, which has been removed from the tracks, was marked as operated by ECHO Transportation, Creel said.
An official with Texas-based ECHO Transportation declined to immediately comment on the crash.
Reuters
Wed Mar 08 2017
A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. - AP Photo/Kevin McGill
Sektor pendidikan terima RM64.1 bilion, tertinggi dalam sejarah
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memberitahu Kementerian Pendidikan diberi peruntukan RM64.1 bilion peruntukan tertinggi dalam sejarah.
Kerajaan meluluskan Forest City sebagai Pulau Bebas Cukai - PM
Skim Pejabat Keluarga Tunggal telah diluncurkan untuk Zon Kewangan Khas Forest City bagi menggalakkan pengurusan dana Keluarga, kata PM Anwar Ibrahim
Belanjawan 2025: Ada ibu bapa warga emas? Ini manfaat membabitkan mereka
Belanjawan 2025 menaikkan bantuan bulanan untuk warga emas serta memperluaskan pelepasan cukai berkaitan penjagaan kesihatan dan sukan.
Peruntukan RM6.7 bilion pacu pembangunan Sabah
Cadangan peruntuk RM6.7 bilion untuk Sabah 2025 memadai untuk meneruskan projek pembangunan pada tahun akhgir Rancangan Malaysia Ke-12 (RMK12).
Perkhidmatan komuniti bergerak di Sabah, Sarawak diperluas
Tambahnya Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) bergerak ditambah empat lagi menjadikan 12 buah terutamanya untuk Sabah dan Sarawak bagi memudahkan penyaluran bantuan kerajaan.
Usaha memperkasa pembangunan ekonomi masyarakat luar bandar
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata setiap pedesaan, miskin bandar, di kampung, pedalaman dan rumah panjang diberi peruntukan antara RM50,000 hingga RM100,000
Pembangunan fasiliti di Sabah, Sarawak terus jadi fokus kerajaan
Ini apabila sejumlah RM 253 juta diperuntukkan untuk projek pembesaran Lapangan Terbang Tawau dan Lapangan Terbang Miri. Selain itu, Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Sarawak bekerjasama membangunkan Pusat Kanser Sarawak yang dianggarkan 1 bilion ringgit.
Pemberian Khas Sabah, Sarawak dicadang dinaikan RM600 juta
Kerajaan bercadang menaikkan kadar Pemberian Khas Sarawak dan Sabah sekali ganda kepada RM600 juta.
Atur kemasukan warga asing, SPRM tahan dua pegawai penguat kuasa dan ejen
Mereka dipercayai terlibat mengatur kemasukan warga asing menerusi laluan kaunter khas di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang (LTAPP).
Belanjawan 2025: Gred Turus tidak ambil kenaikan gaji tujuh peratus
Barisan Pengurusan Tertinggi penjawat awam Gred Utama iaitu Turus bersetuju untuk tidak menerima lagi kenaikan gaji sebanyak tujuh peratus dalam SSPA yang bermula 1 Disember depan.
4 maut dalam kejadian tembakan di Mississippi
Empat maut dalam dua kejadian tembakan di Mississippi, Amerika Syarikat (AS) pada Rabu, menurut polis.