It was lucky no one died. That was the message from officials who inspected the damage Saturday caused by a two two-train collision in Connecticut that injured dozens Friday. A total of 72 people were sent to the hospital, with two still in critical condition. “The damage is absolutely staggering,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said, according to the Associated Press. “I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident.” For his part, Sen. Chris Murphy said it was “frankly amazing” no one was killed.
There were around 700 people aboard the Metro-North trains when one that was heading from New York City to New Haven derailed outside Bridgeport and collided with a train on an adjacent track. The crash caused “extensive damage” to the track and there is no official estimate of how long the investigation and repairs will take, points out NBC News. Meanwhile, commuters will have to find alternatives. The 30-mile stretch between New Haven and South Norwalk, Conn. will remain shut down indefinitely, as will Amtrak service between New York and New Haven, reports CNN. “I think this is going to be with us for a number of days,” Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said.
