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| AMTRAK DERAILMENTS |
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| AMTRAK SAFETY INSPECTIONS FAIL CAUSING MULTIPLE DERAILMENTS AND ACCIDENTS THROUGHOUT U.S.A. |
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 FBI widens search for derailment evidence Associated Press and Reuter HYDER, Ariz. -- Investigators swarmed Tuesday over the wreckage of an Amtrak passenger train derailed in a sabotage. About 90 FBI agents expanded a painstaking search of the desert floor to a mile-square area surrounding the gulch where the Sunset Limited lurched off a sabotaged track and toppled 30 feet from a bridge, killing a crew member and injuring at least 78 people. The case was put under the supervision of Assistant FBI Director Robert Bryant, whose national security division fights terrorism. Notes left at the crash scene by a group calling itself "Sons of Gestapo" cited the federal role in the deadly sieges at Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. President Clinton used the incident to press for action Tuesday on an "anti-terrorism" bill that has stalled in Congress. The bill was introduced following the April 19 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. Clinton said he had tried to make government accountable for its mistakes, including those made during the deadly 1993 Waco siege and the 1992 Ruby Ridge shoot-out. "Give us the tools we need to fight the problems of today and tomorrow with anti-terrorism (legislation) but hold us strictly, strictly accountable. That's the answer," he said. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said House Republicans were seeking to learn from the FBI whether the proposed anti-terrorism legislation would have made a difference in the train attack. He said many Americans "are very cautious about how much power to give the executive branch and how much police powers to give away and how many civil liberties to give up." Amtrak President Thomas Downs acknowledged Tuesday that the saboteurs knew railroad mechanics, but said he did not think it was the work of a present or former Amtrak employee. "This is in effect the murder of one of our own employees," he said. State and local authorities in Arizona are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of the saboteurs. Acting on a tip, FBI agents Tuesday found a train "derailing device" on tracks in Phoenix. Special Agent Al Davidson said the bureau was investigating whether it was connected with Monday's derailment. The device is used to get trains back on tracks, but can do the opposite, said Mike Furtney, spokesman for Southern Pacific Railroad, which owns the tracks. The FBI has set up a toll-free number to collect tips about the Amtrak derailment: 1-800-905-1514. Transportation chief vows to fight railway terrorism U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said Tuesday his agency will work with railroads to update security technology on the nation's rail system. Pena's remarks came just a day after apparent sabotage caused an Amtrak passenger train in Arizona to jump the tracks, killing one crew member and injuring 83 others. The "Sunset Limited" was bound for Los Angeles from Miami. Speaking at a press conference before a speech to the Economic Club of Detroit, Pena said he's determined to protect the rail system from terrorists. "Because we as Americans live in a different time, we now are unfortunately subject to these kinds of attacks," he said. "We saw that in New York with the World Trade Center bombing, we saw it in Oklahoma and we saw it yesterday." He asked that travelers cooperate with stepped-up security measures, whether in airports or train stations. "This is something we're just going to have to do as Americans to respond to these new threats," he said. Pena said law enforcement agencies received no warning prior to the early Monday morning derailment. He said no motive has been determined. Riding the rails, said Pena, sill remains one of the safest methods of travel in the country. The derailment occurred in the desert, 60 miles southwest of Phoenix. The train jumped the tracks on a 30-foot-high bridge after 29 rail spikes had been removed along with a three-foot, 18-pound steel connector that holds sections of tracks together. The crash occurred on an older section of track that doesn't have the latest security technology. "The person who did this knew that it was old track and understood the relatively simple security technology that existed and obviously short-circuited the system," said Pena. Amtrak is phasing out the older track, he said. Pena said transportation officials held a teleconferencing call with all railroads Tuesday to discuss what is necessary to quickly upgrade the security on the rail system. "This is a very high priority for us," he said. "We will continue to work with the private sector, state and local governments to ensure that the American people have the most secure transportation system in the world." Copyright 1995, The Detroit News Amtrak 'Capital Limited' hits MARC No. 286; 12 DeadChicago, IL, February 16, 1996 --A Chicago-bound Amtrak "Capital Limited" passenger train tonight ran head-on into a MARC commuter train near Silver Spring, MD. An explosion and fire resulted, as well as the derailment of several cars of both trains. According to Montgomery County Fire Officials, twelve (12) people were killed and at least 36 others were injured, some critically. The crash happened at approximately 5:45p.m.EST, in a major switching area for the Washington rail corridor. "We grabbed two or three of the more severely injured and immediately loaded them into ambulances," volunteer firefighter Brian Hall told reporters shortly after the accident. "The people were frantically yelling..because of the tremendous shock of what had happened...several of them panicked", Hall continued. Firefighters said that they transported at least 21 people to Suburban Hospital in Silver Spring and Holy Cross Hospital in Bethesda. Some of the victims were said to have suffered smoke inhalation, and others had bumps, bruises, and broken bones. Neighbors said that they heard a large explosion and then saw a "fireball" engulf the front of one train as the two trains impacted. Large amounts of smoke quickly filled the residential neighborhood surrounding the tracks. An unidentified eyewitness said that she heard the collision from three blocks away and immediately ran to the scene to see what was the matter. When she arrived, she said that the scene was "total chaos" and that smoke, fire, and screaming people were "everywhere". The woman said that many of the Amtrak passengers exited the train by themselves, but that the people on the commuter train weren't so lucky. According to an Amtrak spokesperson, Cliff Black, only ten people on the Amtrak train received minor injuries. All of the dead and seriously injured were reportedly on the MARC train, which according to at least one witness, may have been stopped at the time of the impact. A Montgomery County administrator said that several bodies are still on or in the wreckage of the MARC cars and may not be moved until the local and state police, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have had an opportunity to begin their preliminary investigation into the crash. No cause for the calamity has yet been established. The "black boxes" that contain details of the motion, speed, and operating procedures taken were removed from one of the trains at about 11:00p.m. this evening and have been turned over to the NTSB for evaluation. Montgomery County Police would not speculate in regard to any of the other details surrounding the tragedy. An officer told ENN that "it is entirely too early to tell anything about what caused this tragedy...but I can assure you, we'll get to the bottom of it." (c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1996 All rights reserved, except as assigned. Emergency Response & Research Institute 6348 N. Milwaukee Ave., #312, Chicago, IL 60646 (312) 631-ERRI - Voice/Voice Mail (312) 631-4703 - Fax  http://www.disaster.net/index.html http://www.disasters.org/emgold/ http://www.emergency.com/disaster.htm |
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