Three dead in California train crash
Three people are confirmed to have died in a train crash in Los Angeles.
Officials say around 265 people were injured in the head-on collision between a freight train and a commuter train.
The northbound freight train hit the southbound Metrolink train south of Los Angeles, buckling and derailing two carriages packed with passengers.
One person died at the scene and two others died later, said Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. The victims were not immediately identified.
Officials said roughly 265 people were injured, some seriously. Up to 75 passengers are being sent to trauma centres and the rest are being treated at the scene.
One witness said the Metrolink train was stopped on the track when the freight train, traveling at about 30 mph, hit the passenger train. Two passenger cars were buckled and derailed, but they remained upright.
Passenger Kim Bailey also recalled the train coming to a halt just prior to the collision about 35 miles south east of downtown Los Angeles.
She said: "I was thrown forward onto my knees with my face into the seat, and I was just confused. I just saw darkness and I didn't know what happened."
Firefighters, some using ladders, helped passengers out of the derailed two-decker Metrolink train and treated the most seriously injured in a triage area. Many have suffered internal injuries and broken bones.
