JOPLIN, Mont. (AP) — Federal investigators are examining overturned rail cars and a stretch of tracks as they try to determine why an Amtrak train derailed in rural Montana over the weekend.
The accident killed three people and hospitalized seven others.
The westbound Empire Builder was traveling from Chicago to Seattle when it left the tracks Saturday afternoon near Joplin, a town of about 200.
According to the Associated Press, there were 141 passengers and 16 crew members on board when the train derailed.
The train had two locomotives and 10 cars, eight of which derailed.
The derailment occurred near a switch in the line, where one set of tracks turned into two, on a stretch of track that had just been inspected.
According to the AP, everything from the switch to the suspension systems, as well as the track geometry and condition, will be investigated.
Federal officials were expected to provide an update later Monday.
The victims' identities have not been released.
