Two hospitalized after Amtrak derailment

BLACKWELL, Mo. -- Two people remained hospitalized in satisfactory condition and train tracks were expected to reopen Thursday, after about 20 people were injured in an Amtrak derailment, officials said.

Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer said none of the injuries were life threatening.

The Texas Eagle, which runs between Chicago and San Antonio, derailed around 11:30 p.m Wednesday in eastern Missouri. It had departed from Chicago at 3:20 p.m.

The southbound train was carrying 90 passengers and 13 crew members. One passenger and one crew member remained hospitalized Thursday, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

One Amtrak train had been rerouted through Illinois on Thursday morning, but the tracks at the derailment site were expected to reopen by Thursday evening, Magliari said.

Boyer said the train was moving slowly through a winding area of Jefferson County, about 50 miles south of St. Louis, when it apparently struck a rock slide. Boyer described boulders about half the size of a car hood on the track.

The engineer reported an obstruction, either a boulder or a rock slide, Magliari said.

"It was in the path of the train, and it was not possible to stop the train short of the boulder," he said.

The cause of the slide was not known, but Boyer said wet conditions appear to have contributed. The area received about 1 1/2 inches of rain Wednesday night.

"Fortunately, it was in a place where the train had to slow down," Boyer said, adding that otherwise the derailment could have been much more serious.

Boyer said the engine and its six passenger cars left the tracks and the engine turned over on its side. The passenger cars remained upright, he said.

School buses took the uninjured passengers to the firehouse in De Soto. They were then taken to a Jefferson County hotel and arrangements were being made to help them continue their travels, Magliari said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was not going to investigate the derailment. The board does not investigate every rail accident, but makes a determination based on each situation, said spokesman Terry Williams.