By Steve Neavling
The National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene of a fatal passenger train derailment that occurred Saturday in Montana.
NTSB will investigate what caused the derailment, which killed three people and injured more than 50 others.
The Amtrak train, which was carrying 141 passengers and 16 crew members, was traveling from Seattle to Chicago when it derailed near Toplin, Montana.
“The NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate Saturday’s derailment of Amtrak’s Empire Builder train near Joplin, Montana,” NTSB tweeted. “Team will be based in Great Falls, Montana.”
NTSB said it expects to hold a news briefing late Monday afternoon.
In a statement, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said Sunday that the company was working with NTSB and others involved in the investigation.
“We share the sense of urgency to understand why the accident happened; however, until the investigation is complete, we will not comment further on the accident itself,” Flynn said.
“The NTSB will identify the cause or causes of this accident, and Amtrak commits to taking appropriate actions to prevent a similar accident in the future.”
The derailment was the first fatal accident involving Amtrak since a passenger and freight train collided in 2018, killing two the company’s employees.
