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[h=4]Mudslide caused San Francisco area train derailment near Sunol, Calif.[/h]Union Pacific Railroad officials investigating Monday night’s commuter train derailment east of San Francisco believe a mudslide may have caused the accident.
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A commuter train derailed in Central California Monday night, and the front car plunged into a swollen creek. Authorities say 9 passengers were hurt, and that the train derailed because a large tree fell on the tracks. (March 8) AP
A commuter train that derailed in the Altamont Pass east of San Francisco on Monday, March 7, 2016.(Photo: Sgt. J.D. Nelson, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office)
SAN FRANCISCO —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Union Pacific Railroad officials<span style="color: Red;">*</span>investigating Monday night’s commuter train derailment east of San Francisco say<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a mudslide<span style="color: Red;">*</span>caused the accident.
"It's almost miraculous" that no one died, said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, public information officer with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
As many as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>nine people were injured in the accident, though none had life-threatening injuries.
"It's unclear whether the mudslide occured as the train was traversing the track or it was already there," said Francisco Castillo, public affairs director for Union Pacific Railroad.
The San Francisco Bay area had been hit with heavy rain on Monday, which caused flooding and mudslides across the region.
The train was traveling near Niles Canyon Road between the cities of Fremont and Sunol when the accident occured.
The first car of the train slide down a 40-foot embankment into Alameda Creek and was partially submerged, Nelson said. All the passengers were led off the train Monday night. The injured were taken to local hospitals and the uninjured were bussed to the country fairground in Pleasanton, Calif., he said.
The Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) train was traveling from San Jose to Stockton, Calif.
A commuter train that derailed in the Altamont Pass east of San Francisco on Monday, March 7, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Sgt. J.D. Nelson, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office)
Initial reports were that as many as 14 people might have been injured in the accident that derailed two of the train’s five passenger cars. That number was later reduced to nine. There were four with serious but non life-threatening injuries and five with minor injuries, Castillo said.
The train had 214 passengers at the time.
Castillo said several of the passengers were treated by emergency medical personnel on the scene. Others were treated and released at local hospitals.
Eden Medical Center in nearby Castro Valley, Calif. admitted one passenger, a woman who was in good condition but was being held for observation Tuesday morning, said spokeswoman Cindy Dove.
Rescue operations underway at the site of a train derailment in Sunol, near the San Francisco Bay area, CA. Train carriages were seen lying on their side in a river outside Sunol, near the San Francisco Bay Area.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: ALAMEDA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT, EPA)
Washington Hospital in Fremont, Calif. received two passengers with minor injuries. One was treated and released and one was still in the hospital in good condition, said spokesman Christopher Brown.
Important commute route
No ACE trains were operating Tuesday, causing long traffic backups along the busy commuter route through the Altamont Pass. The rail line carries on average 5,000 to 6,000 passengers a day, according to Union Pacific.
Crews spent Tuesday pulling the damaged cars back onto the rails, which they hoped to finish by 4:00 Pacific, Castillo said.
The rails themselves were in good condition, with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the crews only needing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to replace several concrete ties. "The line should be up and running by this evening if everything goes well," Castillo said.
Near miss
In what could have been a tragic ending to the entire episode, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>journalist and photographer reporting from near<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the scene narrowly missed being struck by an out-of-control car as it careened up onto the sidewalk where they were filming Tuesday morning.
Alex Savidge, a reporter with local television station KTVU, was doing a live TV<span style="color: Red;">*</span>segment about the derailment for the station's morning news show.
His photographer Chip Vaughn yelled "Get out of the way,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a car that had just been involved in a crash<span style="color: Red;">*</span>plowed through the area where he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and Savidge had been standing.
Savidge jumped aside just as the car reached him. Both he and Vaughn were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>unhurt. The entire incident was caught on camera.
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A reporter and a cameraman from a California news station just missed getting hit by a car during a broadcast.
Video provided by Newsy Newslook
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