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60 Injured As Metro-North Train Derails Near Fairfield Metro Station

Updated at 9:45 p.m. Friday: FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- At least 60 people were injured when one Metro-North train derailed and clipped a second one at about 6:10 p.m. Friday just east of the Fairfield Metro station, MTA and police officials said.

A firefighter investigates the scene of the derailment on the Fairfield-Bridgeport border.

A firefighter investigates the scene of the derailment on the Fairfield-Bridgeport border.

Photo Credit: Fairfield Police Department Facebook Page
Twitter user Rob Oliver tweeted this photo with the caption: My train just collided w another train in Bridgeport.

Twitter user Rob Oliver tweeted this photo with the caption: My train just collided w another train in Bridgeport.

Photo Credit: Rob Oliver via Twitter @CT Rob Oliver
Officials work at the scene of the train derailment on the Fairfield-Bridgeport border.

Officials work at the scene of the train derailment on the Fairfield-Bridgeport border.

Photo Credit: Greg Canuel
Passengers wait for buses to take them away from the scene of a two-train collision.

Passengers wait for buses to take them away from the scene of a two-train collision.

Photo Credit: Greg Canuel

Hector Navarro of Hartford was on the southbound train but not in a car that derailed. "It was like something just grabbed us and held us back. The whole car just jerked," he said. "Kids fell on the floor--people got hurt. It was a scary feeling. I feel sorry for those that could not hold on tight."

Some passengers got off the trains along the tracks on their own, others with help, officials said. The passengers on the westbound train were taken to the Fairfield station; the passengers on the eastbound train went to the Bridgeport station.

"It's a very serious incident,"  Malloy said late Friday. "One of the injuries is very critical."

The state was awaiting the arrival of the National Safety Transportation Board, which will lead the investigation into the cause of the crash.

St. Vincent's Hospital and Bridgeport Hospital were treating the injured people, with five people in serious condition, Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara said. The hospitals were still evaluating "walking wounded," he said. 

"Luckily, they did not collide head-on, which obviously would have caused more serious injuries," MacNamara said.

The train service will be shut down all night. "If you're planning to take the train in the morning, I would suggest finding an alternate mode of transportation," Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said.

The crash involved two trains that were carrying rush-hour commuters. The tracks were described as destroyed. 

Photos shown on television showed the two trains side by side, with at least one car off the tracks. Part of one train car was ripped open. The crash scene is in Bridgeport, near the Fairfield line, near Interstate 95.

"We don't know whether this was accidental or mechanical or ... you know .. intentional," Lt. James Perez of the Fairfield Police Department said in an interview on NBC Connecticut. "We are investigating."

On the New Haven Line, no westbound train service was being provided beyond Bridgeport. Eastbound train service was running to South Norwalk, where all trains were stopping, Metro-North said on its website. Many trains were stopped en route at the closest station.

Police activity on I-95 northbound and southbound was reported at Exit 25. The exit 25 off ramps were closed, the state Department of Transportation reported.

The train involved was the 4:41 p.m. train out of Grand Central due in New Haven at 6:32 p.m., Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. In derailing, it hit a westbound train on the adjacent track, she said. That train was 5:35 p.m. out of New Haven due in Grand Central at 7:18 p.m.

Police from Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton and Westport in addition to Fairfield were on the scene. 

Check back with The Daily Voice for more on this breaking story. 

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