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2 dead, 70 injured as Amtrak train collides with freight train in S.C.

At least two people were killed and 70 injured early Sunday when an Amtrak passenger train collided with a CSX freight train in South Carolina, authorities said.

The crash, which involved Amtrak Train 91, occurred at 2:35 a.m. in Cayce, S.C., outside Columbia, according to Derrec Becker of South Carolina Emergency Management.

There were about 140 passengers on the train, Becker said. All passengers were removed from the train.

Passengers' injuries ranged from scratches to broken bones, said Lexington Country spokesman Harrison Cahill.

The Amtrak train's lead engine and some passenger cars derailed, Amtrak said in a statement.

The crash occurred near Charleston Highway and Pine Ridge Road near Pine Ridge, S.C., the Lexington Sheriff’s Department said on Twitter.

Approximately 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at the scene, Becker said. Hazmat crews were dispatched and the spill was being contained. There was no threat to the public, he said.

The Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at nearby Pine Ridge Middle School to assist with the injured, the Lexington Country Sheriff's Department said on Twitter, 

Amtrak said people with questions about the crash could call 1-800-523-9101.

It was the second major crash for Amtrak in less than a week. On Wednesday, a train carrying Republican members of Congress to a retreat in West Virginia hit a garbage truck in rural Virginia. The crash left one person dead and others wounded. 

In December, a passenger train derailed on an overpass near Seattle, with cars crashing into the highway below, killing three persons.

In 2015, an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring more than 200.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Source: USA Today:

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