The Amtrak Cascades train traveling from Seattle to Portland partially landed on the busy Interstate 5 highway near Tacoma, with one car dangling from the track above the stalled traffic. Another fell onto the road and struck several vehicles, though no drivers or passengers in the automobiles were killed, according to the Associated Press.
More than 80 people were aboard the train at the time of its derailment. The exact death toll is not yet known, according to local authorities. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Here are some photos from the scene in the wake of the tragic derailment:
#BREAKING: Amtrak says they are aware of train derailment involving train 501 which runs between Seattle and Portland. Train appears to have derailed near Olympia with part of train on I-5. Pic @wsdot_tacomapic.twitter.com/rX6YMEAEVO
Logging trucks remain stopped just before where cars from an Amtrak train lay spilled onto Interstate 5 below alongside smashed vehicles as some train cars remain on the tracks above, in DuPont, Wash. The Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off the overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing some people, authorities said. Seventy-eight passengers and five crew members were aboard when the train moving at more than 80 mph derailed about 40 miles south of Seattle before 8 a.m., Amtrak said — Shutterstock/APThompson/AP/REX/Shutterstock—Thompson/AP/REX/ShutterstockCars from an Amtrak train that derailed above lay spilled onto Interstate 5 alongside smashed vehicles, in DuPont, Wash. The Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off the overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing some people, authorities said — Shutterstock/APElaine Thompson/AP/REX/Shutterstock—Thompson/AP/REX/ShutterstockA semi-truck with visible damage to its hood sits parked on the shoulder just ahead of a car covered in mud and debris and with a smashed windshield just beyond where an Amtrak train lay spilled onto Interstate 5 below as some train cars remain on the tracks above, in DuPont, Wash. The Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off the overpass Monday near Tacoma and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing some people, authorities said — Shutterstock/APThompson/AP/REX/Shutterstock—Thompson/AP/REX/ShutterstockPolice officials walk over tracks near a curve at the back of where an Amtrak train derailed above Interstate 5, in DuPont, Wash — Shutterstock/APThompson/AP/REX/Shutterstock—Thompson/AP/REX/ShutterstockA handout photo made available by the Pierce County Sheriffs Department showing the trucks of Amtrak train 501 which derailed onto Interstate 5 near Tacoma, Washington, USA, 18 December 2017. Reports state that the Amtrak train car fell from an overpass, landing on the highway outside Seattle — Shutterstock/APHANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock—HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockA handout photo made available by the Pierce County Sheriffs Department showing Amtrak train 501 which derailed onto Interstate 5 near Olympia, Washington — Shutterstock/APHANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock—HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
