Alan Etter, D.C. fire spokesman, called it a “mass casualty event,” and emergency workers were using rescue tools to cut through the wreckage to free numerous passengers who were trapped in the trains, reported NBC.
According to the Metro Transit Authority, many of the injuries were serious.
The collision happened between two trains running above ground between Takoma Park and Fort Totten stations. Both were on the same track, on the Red Line toward Shady Grove station.
According to reports, one of the trains stopped when the other crashed into it. The female operator who died was in the trailing train. After the crash, two of the cars from one train appeared to be on top of the other train.
Rescue workers from Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. were heading to the site of the wreckage. Howard University Hospital and Washington Hospital Centers have increased emergency room staffing to receive patients from the collision, according to NBC.
Metro officials say that they do not know the cause of the collision.
“We are extremely saddened that there are fatalities as a result of this accident, which has touched our Metro family. We hope to have more details about the casualties later today. Our safety officials are investigating, and will continue to investigate until we determine why this happened and what must be done to ensure it never happens again,” Metro General Manager John Catoe said, according to the Metro Transit Authority website.
In the Metrorail’s 33-year history, the only other fatal train accident occurred in January 1982, when three people died in a derailment between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian Metrorail stations.
The last DC Metro collision occurred on Nov. 3, 2004 when an empty train backed into another train carrying passengers at the Woodley Park/Zoo-Adams Morgan Metrorail station, causing some injuries and no fatalities.
