USA-&-Canada
Russia at 70 percent of Ukraine military buildup
Russia has assembled at least 70 percent of the military firepower it likely intends to have in place by mid-month to give President Vladimir Putin the option of launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials say.
The officials, who discussed internal assessments of the Russian buildup on condition they not be identified, sketched out a series of indicators suggesting Putin intends an invasion in coming weeks, although the size and scale are unclear. They stressed that a diplomatic solution appears to remain possible.
Among those military indicators: an exercise of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces that usually is held each fall was rescheduled for mid-February to March. That coincides with what U.S. officials see as the most likely window for invasion. The officials made no suggestion that a prospective conflict would involve the use of nuclear weapons, but the Russian exercise — likely involving the test-launching of unarmed long-range missiles on Russian territory — could be used as a message aimed at deterring the West from intervening in Ukraine.
READ: French, German leaders to visit Russia, Ukraine amid tension
U.S. officials have said in recent weeks that a Russian invasion could overwhelm Ukraine’s military relatively quickly, although Moscow might find it difficult to sustain an occupation and cope with a potential insurgency.
The ongoing Russian buildup comes as the Biden administration has been disclosing intelligence in hopes of preemptively countering Russian disinformation and blocking Putin’s plans for creating a pretext for an invasion. But it has come under criticism for not providing evidence to back up many of its claims.
On Saturday, The New York Times and The Washington Post said officials were warning that a full Russian invasion could lead to the quick capture of Kyiv and potentially result in as many as 50,000 casualties. A U.S. official confirmed that estimate to The Associated Press. But it’s not clear how U.S. agencies determined those numbers, and any predictions about how an invasion would proceed and the human cost it would inflict are inherently uncertain given the vagaries of war.
President Joe Biden has said he will not send U.S. troops to Ukraine to fight a war. He has, however, ordered additional forces, including combat troops, to Poland and Romania to reassure those NATO allies that Washington would fulfill its treaty commitment to respond to Russian aggression against NATO territory. Ukraine is not a NATO member but receives U.S. and allied military support and training.Army officials on Saturday announced that Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, arrived in Poland. About other 1,700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne are deploying to Poland from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and 300 soldiers are deploying from Bragg to Germany. In addition, 1,000 Germany-based soldiers are shifting to Romania.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week that Putin could use any portion of the force he has assembled along Ukraine’s borders to seize Ukrainian cities and “significant territories” or to carry out “coercive acts or provocative political acts” like the recognition of breakaway territories inside Ukraine.
More recently, other U.S. officials provided a more detailed breakdown of Russia’s continuing force buildup, of U.S. assessments of prospects for war, and of the U.S. view of Putin’s approach to the crisis.
The officials reiterated what other Biden administration officials have been saying for weeks — that they don’t believe Putin has made a final decision to invade Ukraine. But it appears possible that the Russian leader set his intentions and is waiting until the last moment to give the go-ahead for an invasion.
Officials sketched out the disposition of Russian forces that have been deployed toward Ukraine’s borders over the past several months, creating what Western officials see as the threat of a full-scale invasion despite repeated assertions by senior Russian officials that they do not intend to attack unprovoked.
As of Friday, the officials said, the Russian army has put in place near Ukraine a total of 83 “battalion tactical groups,” each of which is roughly equivalent in size to an American battalion of between 750 and 1,000 soldiers. That is an increase from 60 battalion tactical groups in position just two weeks ago, they said.
Another 14 battalion tactical groups are on their way to the border area from other parts of Russia, the officials said. Two officials said the U.S. assesses that Russia would want a total of between 110 and 130 battalion tactical groups for use in a full-scale invasion, but Putin could decide on a more limited incursion. Including support units, Russia might be aiming to have 150,000 troops in place for a full-scale invasion, one official said, adding that the ongoing buildup could reach that level in the next couple of weeks.
Depending on Putin’s ultimate objective, the Russian forces could attack Kyiv directly by moving south from current positions in southern Belarus. He might also send forces across the Russian border into eastern and southern Ukraine if his intent is to fracture and destroy a large portion of the Ukrainian army, the officials said.
On the lower end of the scale of military action, Putin might order sabotage, cyberattacks and other destabilizing actions inside Ukraine with the goal of removing the current government in Kyiv, officials have said.
Canadian police expect COVID-19 protests to ramp up again
Ontario’s Conservative premier called Friday for demonstrators to end the “occupation” of Ottawa, while police moved 150 officers to the parts of the capital most affected by the protest against vaccine mandates..
Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly gave no indication when the days-old protest would end, saying police expected it to ramp up again this weekend, when protests are also planned in Toronto and Quebec City.
“It’s not a protest anymore. It’s become an occupation,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. “It’s time for this to come to an end.”
Ford said the province is very close to getting back to normal in the pandemic and protests are a constitutional right, but he said an occupation is unacceptable.
Sloly acknowledged “trust has been impacted” as Ottawa residents are furious with the blaring horns, traffic gridlock and harassment they have faced. Many complain police have done little and they call it an occupation.
Also read: Canada PM tests positive for Covid, rips anti vaccine demo
“If we knew that it was going to seep into the neighborhoods we would have deployed more resources into those neighborhoods,” deputy police chief Steve Bell said. “We’ve listened to our community. They are upset, they are fearful.”
Thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital last weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill. Police estimate about 250 remained, but Bell said they expected 300 to 400 more trucks this weekend and more than 1,000 protesters on foot. He said up to 1,000 counter-protesters were expected as well.
The “freedom truck convoy” has attracted support from former U.S. President Donald Trump and the opposition federal Conservative party in Canada, but two federal Conservative party lawmakers broke with the party and said the protest needed to end.
“I spent the week undergoing the Siege of Ottawa,” Conservative lawmaker Pierre Paul-Hus tweeted. “I ask that we clear the streets and that we stop this occupation controlled by radicals and anarchist groups.”
“I wholeheartedly and unreservedly deplore and denounce what is happening in Ottawa with the so-called Freedom Convoy right now. Let me be clear: If you wrap yourself in or go about waving a Nazi or Confederate flag, you are declaring yourself a person who embraces hate, bigotry, and racism,” Patterson said in a statement.
The Conservative party ousted its moderate party leader this week and the interim leader has voiced support for the protesters.
Also read: 6 provinces in Canada report new daily highs for coronavirus
Many Canadians were outraged after some protesters urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.
Protesters have said they won’t leave until all mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are gone. They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau’s government, though it is responsible for few of the measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.
Late Thursday, federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had approved the mayor’s request for the national police force to support city police.
Organizers, including ones who have espoused racist and white supremacist views, had raised millions for the cross-country “freedom truck convoy” against vaccine mandates and other restrictions. Protests are planned for Toronto and Quebec City as well. Toronto police closed a street in front of the provincial legislature where major five hospitals are located.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, a federation representing truckers across the country, has estimated that 85% of truckers in Canada are vaccinated. It opposes the protest.
Some of the demonstrators are protesting a rule that took effect Jan. 15 requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The U.S. has the same rule for truckers entering the U.S. So if the Canadian government removed it, it would make no difference.
Canada PM tests positive for Covid, rips anti vaccine demo
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine” and will continue to work remotely from home.
Trudeau said two of his children have COVID-19 and a test Monday revealed he has been infected as well.
The prime minister, who has received two vaccine shots and a booster shot, used a televised virtual news conference to denounce anti-vaccine protesters who filled Canada’s capital to complain about COVID restrictions.
Also read: Thousands in Ottawa protest COVID mandates, many rebuked
“Canadians were shocked and quite frankly disgusted by the behavior displayed by some people in our nation’s capital,” Trudeau said. “I want to be clear. We are not intimated by those who hurl insults and abuse at small businesses and steal from the homeless. We won’t give in those who fly racist flags. We won’t cave to those who engage in vandalism or dishonor the memory of our veterans.”
Some demonstrators travelled in truck convoys and parked on the streets around Parliament Hill, blocking traffic — and a smaller but significant number remained on Monday.
Many Canadians were outraged by images over the weekend of some protesters urinating on the National War Memorial and dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, while a number carried signs and flags with swastikas.
Many refused to wear masks in hotels, malls and grocery stores and one homeless shelter reported protesters had demanded it feed them.
Canada has one of the world’s highest rates of vaccination against the coronavirus — shots that are primarily designed to keep those who become infected from falling seriously ill.
Protest organizers have called for the elimination of all COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates and for the removal of Trudeau, though he is responsible for very few of the restrictions, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.
Also read: FM Momen, wife test Covid positive
The Ottawa police department has said it is investigating possible criminal charges over some actions during the protests.
“To those responsible for this behavior, it needs to stop. To anyone who joined the convoy but is rightly uncomfortable with the symbol of hatred and division on display, join with your fellow Canadians, be courageous and speak out. Do not stand for or with intolerance and hate,” Trudeau said.
Some were protesting a rule that took effect Jan. 15 requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country so Canada removing it would make little difference.
Some opposition Conservative lawmakers served coffee to the protesters and Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole met with some protesting truckers. The demonstration also attracted support from former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Freedom Convoy: Truckers cause chaos in Ottawa after second day of protests
Protesters against a vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the US-Canada border have brought Canada's capital city to a standstill for a second day.
Thousands of demonstrators joined the so-called Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, reports BBC.
Police have started investigations after several incidents, including the appearance of swastika flags and footage of a woman dancing on the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Read:Thousands in Ottawa protest COVID mandates, many rebuked
Defence Minister Anita Anand said the incidents were "beyond reprehensible".
Ottawa police said in a Twitter post that "several" investigations were now under way into the "desecration" of a number monuments in the capital city, as well as "threatening/illegal/intimidating behaviour to police/city workers and other individuals and damage to a city vehicle".
Elsewhere across the city, truckers blocked the streets around Canada's parliament building and Ottawa's Mayor Jim Watson said some protesters had harassed staff at a soup kitchen, demanding free meals after they were turned away by restaurants for their refusal to comply with indoor mask mandates.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family also left their home in Ottawa over safety concerns on Saturday.
Around 90% of Canada's 120,000 cross-border truckers are now vaccinated, in line with the country's adult population.
The demonstration has grown beyond a call to end the cross-border mandate to a push to an end to all vaccine mandates nationwide, and some demonstrators have pledged to continue their protests they are removed.
Mr Trudeau called the protesters "a small fringe minority" during a press conference earlier this week.
Read:Canada finds 4th body after British Columbia mudslide
Conservative leader Erin O'Toole has met some of the protesters and has spoken in favour of the right to peaceful demonstration, but criticised "individuals desecrating" memorials in Ottawa.
Mr Trudeau's Liberal government brought in the vaccine mandate on 15 January that would require unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the two nations' border to quarantine once they return home.
The US has also recently said that foreign truck drivers must show proof of vaccination to enter the country.
Thousands in Ottawa protest COVID mandates, many rebuked
Thousands of protesters gathered in Canada’s capital on Saturday to protest vaccine mandates, masks and lockdowns.
Some parked on the grounds of the National War Memorial and danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, others carried signs and flags with swastikas and some used the statue of Canadian hero Terry Fox to display an anti-vaccine statement, sparking widespread condemnation.
“I am sickened to see protesters dance on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and desecrate the National War Memorial. Generations of Canadians have fought and died for our rights, including free speech, but not this. Those involved should hang their heads in shame,” tweeted Gen. Wayne Eyre, Canada’s Defense Staff chief.
READ: Third COVID wave looms in Indonesia as omicron spreads
Protestors compared vaccine mandates to fascism, one truck carried a Confederate flag and many carried expletive-laden signs targeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The statue of Fox, a national hero who lost a leg to bone cancer as a youngster, then set off in 1980 on a fundraising trek across Canada, was draped with a upside down Canadian flag with a sign that said “mandate freedom.”
Trudeau retweeted a statement from The Terry Fox Foundation that said “Terry believed in science and gave his life to help others.”
Eric Simmons, from Oshawa, Ontario, said all vaccine mandates should be ended.
“They’re not effective, they’re not working. It’s not changing anything. We can’t keep living like this. People are losing their jobs because they don’t want to get the vaccine,” Simmons said.
The convoy of truckers and others prompted police to prepare for the possibility of violence and warn residents to avoid downtown. A top Parliament security official advised lawmakers to lock their doors amid reports their private homes may be targeted.
Trudeau has said Canadians are not represented by this “very troubling, small but very vocal minority of Canadians who are lashing out at science, at government, at society, at mandates and public health advice.″
The prime minister’s itinerary for the day usually says he is in Ottawa if he’s at home, but on Saturday it said “National Capital Region” amid a report he’s been moved to an undisclosed location. One of Trudeau’s kids has COVID-19 and the prime minister has been isolating and working remotely.
READ: Covid in Bangladesh: Daily deaths rise to 21, positivity rate declines to 31.10 %
Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and the premier of the province of Quebec who is proposing to tax the unvaccinated is popular.
Some are, in part, protesting a new rule that took effect Jan. 15 requiring truckers entering Canada be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance said a great number of the protesters have no connection to the trucking industry, adding they have a separate agenda to push. The alliance notes the vast majority of drivers are vaccinated.
The organizers of the protest have called for the forceful elimination of all COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates and some called for the removal of Trudeau.
Some opposition Canadian Conservative lawmakers served coffee to the protesters. Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole met with some truckers. The protest has also attracted support from Donald Trump Jr. and some Fox News personalities.
“Today the threat against democracy isn’t only happening in America,” former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman tweeted.
READ: Third COVID wave looms in Indonesia as omicron spreads
“Both the use of the swastika and the confederate flag are symbols of hate. So very sad to see these symbols anywhere and especially in Canada.”
The Parliamentary Protective Service expects as many as 10,000 protesters as part of a weekend-long rally.
“I’m locked into my own country right now,” said Tom Pappin, an unvaccinated man who came from just outside Ottawa. “I can’t go on a holiday. I can’t go to a restaurant, I can’t go bowling. I can’t go to a movie. You know, these are things that it’s just gotten out of control.”
The 52-year-old said attendees are likely to stay parked by Parliament until vaccine mandates are lifted.
READ: Covid in Bangladesh: Daily deaths rise to 21, positivity rate declines to 31.10 %
Canada finds 4th body after British Columbia mudslide
The British Columbia Coroners Service has confirmed the discovery of three more bodies near the village of Pemberton, bringing to four the number of people who died in a landslide caused by heavy rains that swept vehicles off the road.
The search continues for a fifth body, chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement Saturday.
The mudslide occurred Monday when a wave of rock and debris covered a section of the highway between Lillooet and Pemberton.
Read:10 bodies, 9 hanging from overpass, found in central Mexico
The body of a woman was recovered Monday.
Lapointe said another body was recovered Wednesday and two additional bodies were found on Thursday.
“Efforts continued Friday to locate a fifth person reported as missing, but unfortunately those attempts were unsuccessful,” she said.
The British Columbia government announced Friday it is limiting the amount of fuel people can purchase at gas stations in some parts of the province and is restricting nonessential travel as highways begin to reopen following the storms.
Read:State of emergency in British Columbia; more deaths expected
Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said nonessential vehicles will be limited to about eight gallons (30 liters) per trip to the gas station. The order is expected to last until Dec. 1.
Environment Canada says 24 B.C. communities received close to 4 inches (100 millimeters) of rain from Saturday to Monday.
The precautionary closure of the Trans Mountain Pipeline during the flooding has raised concerns about a fuel shortage in province’s Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Over 2,000 migrants march out of southern city in Mexico
Over 2,000 migrants, mainly Central Americans, began walking out of a city in southern Mexico on Saturday where they have essentially been trapped.
The migrants walked along a highway leading west and north toward the U.S. border, and pushed past a line of state police who were trying to stop them.
There were minor scuffles and a small child suffered a slight head wound, but the migrants continued on their way.
Read: Ransomed and beaten: Migrants face abuse in Libyan detention
They made it only a few miles (kilometers) to the nearby village of Alvaro Obregon before stopping to rest for the night at a baseball field.
José Antonio, a migrant from Honduras who did not want to give his last name because he fears it could affect his case, said he had been waiting in Tapachula for two months for an answer on his request for some sort of visa.
“They told me I had to wait because the appointments were full,” said the construction worker. “There is no work there (in Tapachula), so out of necessity I joined this group.”
He said he hopes to make it to the northern city of Monterrey to find work, adding “We'll go on, day by day, to get as far as we can.”
Police, immigration agents and National Guard have broken up smaller attempts at similar breakouts earlier this year.
Tens of thousands of migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti have been waiting in the southern city of Tapachula for refugee or asylum papers that might allow them to travel, but have grown tired of delays in the process.
Unlike previous marches, the one that started Saturday from Tapachula did not include as many Haitian migrants, thousands of whom reached the U.S. border around Del Rio, Texas in September.
In August, National Guard troops in riot gear blocked several hundred Haitians, Cubans and Central Americans who set out walking on a highway from Tapachula.
Read:Many migrants staying in US even as expulsion flights rise
Mexico requires migrants applying for humanitarian visas or asylum to remain in the border state of Chiapas, next to Guatemala, for their cases to be processed.
In January, a larger caravan of migrants tried to leave Honduras but was blocked from crossing Guatemala.
The marches are reminiscent, but nowhere near as large, as the migrant caravans that crossed Mexico in 2018 and 2019.
Pamela could be hurricane again as it makes Mexico landfall
Tropical Storm Pamela is picking up momentum in the Pacific off Mexico and forecasters say it should be back to hurricane strength again before striking the coast north of the port of Mazatlan on Wednesday.
After weakening to a tropical storm Tuesday afternoon, Pamela was centered about 170 miles (275 kilometers) west-southwest of Mazatlan late Tuesday and was moving north-northeast at about 12 mph (19 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm had maximum winds of about 70 mph (110 kph).
Read: Hurricane battered Louisiana braces for Nicholas drenching
Pamela was forecast to pass well to the south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula during the night while accelerating its forward movement toward the coast and regaining wind strength.
The hurricane center warned of the possibility of life-threatening storm surges, flash floods and dangerous winds around the impact area.
Pamela was then forecast to weaken while crossing over northern Mexico and could approach the Texas border as a tropical depression by Thursday. The center said remnants of the storm could carry heavy rain to central Texas and southeast Oklahoma.
Investigators probe deadly Amtrak derailment in Montana
A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board was at the site of an Amtrak derailment in north-central Montana that killed three people and left seven hospitalized Sunday, officials said.
The westbound Empire Builder was en route from Chicago to Seattle when it left the tracks about 4 p.m. Saturday near Joplin, a town of about 200.
Trevor Fossen was first on the scene. The Joplin resident was on a dirt road nearing the tracks Saturday when he saw “a wall of dust” about 300 feet high.
“I started looking at that, wondering what it was and then I saw the train had tipped over and derailed,” said Fossen, who called 911 and started trying to get people out. He called his brother to bring ladders for people who couldn’t get down after exiting through the windows of cars resting on their sides.
The train was carrying about 141 passengers and 16 crew members and had two locomotives and 10 cars, eight of which derailed, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said.
A 14-member team including investigators and specialists in railroad signals would look into the cause of the derailment on a BNSF Railway main track that involved no other trains or equipment, said NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss.
Read:Sheriff’s office: At least 3 killed in Amtrak derailment
Law enforcement said the officials from the NTSB, Amtrak and BNSF had arrived at the accident scene just west of Joplin, where the tracks cut through vast, golden brown wheat fields that were recently harvested. Several large cranes were brought to the tracks that run roughly parallel to U.S. Highway 2, along with a truckload of gravel and new railroad ties.
Several rail cars could still be seen on their sides.
The accident scene is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northeast of Helena and about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the Canadian border.
Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn expressed condolences to those who lost loved ones and said the company is working with the NTSB, Federal Railroad Administration and local law enforcement, sharing their “sense of urgency” to determine what happened.
“The NTSB will identify the cause or causes of this accident, and Amtrak commits to taking appropriate actions to prevent a similar accident in the future,” Flynn said in the statement.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said BNSF was readying replacement track for when the NTSB gives the go-head. “BNSF has assured me they can get the line up and running in short order,” he said.
Railroad safety expert David Clarke, director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, said accident scene photos show the derailment occurred at or near a switch, which is where the railway goes from a single track to a double track.
Clarke said the two locomotives and two cars at the front of the train reached the split and continued on the main track, but the remaining eight cars derailed. He said it was unclear if some of the last cars moved onto the second track.
“Did the switch play some role? It might have been that the front of the train hit the switch and it started fish-tailing and that flipped the back part of the train,” Clarke said.
Another possibility was a defect in the rail, Clarke said, noting that regular testing doesn’t always catch such problems. He said speed was not a likely factor because trains on that line have systems that prevent excessive speeds and collisions.
Read:Trudeau's Liberals win Canada election, but miss majority
Matt Jones, a BNSF Railway spokesman said at a news conference that the track where the accident occurred was last inspected Thursday.
Because of the derailment, Sunday’s westbound Empire Builder from Chicago will terminate in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the eastbound train will originate in Minnesota.
Most of those on the train were treated and released for their injuries, but five who were more seriously hurt remained at the Benefis Health System hospital in Great Falls, Montana, said Sarah Robbin, Liberty County emergency services coordinator. Two were in the intensive care unit, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Another two people were at Logan Health, a hospital in Kalispell, Montana, spokeswoman Melody Sharpton said.
Robbin said emergency crews struggled without success to cut open cars with special tools, “so they did have to manually carry out many of the passengers that could not walk.”
Liberty County Sheriff Nick Erickson said the names of the dead would not be released until relatives are notified.
Robbin said nearby residents rushed to offer help when the derailment occurred.
“We are so fortunate to live where we do, where neighbors help neighbors,” she said.
“The locals have been so amazing and accommodating,” passenger Jacob Cordeiro said on Twitter. “They provided us with food, drinks, and wonderful hospitality. Nothing like it when the best comes together after a tragedy.”
Cordeiro, who is from Rhode Island, just graduated from college and was traveling with his father to Seattle to celebrate.
Read:Canada begins allowing vaccinated US citizens to visit again
“I was in one of the front cars and we got badly jostled, thrown from one side of the train to the other,” he told MSNBC. He said the car left the tracks, but did not fall over.
“I’m a pretty big guy and it picked me up from my chair and threw me into one wall and then threw me into the other wall,” Cordeiro said.
Chester Councilwoman Rachel Ghekiere said she and others helped about 50 to 60 passengers who were brought to a school..”
A grocery store in Chester, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the derailment, and a nearby religious community provided food, she said.
Allan Zarembski, director of the University of Delaware’s Railway Engineering and Safety Program, said he didn’t want to speculate but suspected the derailment stemmed from an issue with the train track, equipment, or both.
Railways have “virtually eliminated” major derailments by human error after the implementation of positive train control nationwide, Zarembski said. He said NTSB findings could take months.
Bob Chipkevich, who oversaw railroad crash investigations for several years at the NTSB, said the agency won’t rule out human error or any other potential causes for now.
“There are still human performance issues examined by NTSB to be sure that people doing the work are qualified and rested and doing it properly,” Chipkevich said.
Chipkevich said track conditions have historically been a significant cause of train accidents and noted most of the track Amtrak uses is owned by freight railroads and must depend on those companies for safety maintenance.
Sheriff’s office: At least 3 killed in Amtrak derailment
At least three people were killed Saturday afternoon when an Amtrak train that runs between Seattle and Chicago derailed in north-central Montana, an official with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said.
Dispatcher Starr Tyler told The Associated Press that three people died in the derailment. She did not have more details. Amtrak said in a statement that there were multiple injuries.
The Empire Builder train derailed about 4 p.m. near Joplin, a town of about 200, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement. The accident scene is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of Helena and about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the border with Canada.
The train had about 146 passengers and 16 crew members onboard, Abrams said.
Read:Trudeau's Liberals win Canada election, but miss majority
The train consisted of two locomotives and 10 cars, with seven of those cars derailing, he said.
Megan Vandervest, a passenger on the train who was going to visit a friend in Seattle, told The New York Times that she was awakened by the derailment.
“My first thought was that we were derailing because, to be honest, I have anxiety and I had heard stories about trains derailing,” said Vandervest, who is from Minneapolis. “My second thought was that’s crazy. We wouldn’t be derailing. Like, that doesn’t happen.”
She told the Times that the car behind hers was tilted over, the one behind that was entirely tipped over, and the three cars behind that “had completely fallen off the tracks and were detached from the train.”
Speaking from the Liberty County Senior Center, where passengers were being taken, Vandervest said it felt like “extreme turbulence on a plane.”
Read:Canada begins allowing vaccinated US citizens to visit again
Amtrak was working with the local authorities to transport injured passengers and safely evacuate all other passengers, Abrams added.
The National Transportation Safety Board will send a 14-member team, including investigators and specialists in railroad signals and other disciplines, to investigate the crash, spokesman Eric Weiss said.
Five Amtrak cars derailed around 3:55 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time and no other trains or equipment were involved, Weiss said. The train was traveling on a BNSF Railroad main track at the time, he said.
Photos posted to social media showed several cars on their sides. Passengers were standing alongside the tracks, some carrying luggage.
The images showed sunny skies, and it appeared the accident occurred along a straight section of tracks.
Amtrak said that because of the derailment, the Sunday westbound Empire Builder will terminate in Minneapolis, and the Sunday eastbound Empire Builder train will originate in Minneapolis.
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Other recent Amtrak derailments include:
— April 3, 2016: Two maintenance workers were struck and killed by an Amtrak train going more than 100 mph in Chester, Pennsylvania. The lead engine of the train derailed.
— March 14, 2016: An Amtrak train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago derailed in southwest Kansas, sending five cars off the tracks and injuring at least 32 people. Investigators concluded that a cattle feed delivery truck hit the track and shifted it at least a foot before the derailment.
— Oct. 5, 2015: A passenger train headed from Vermont to Washington, D.C., derailed when it hit rocks that had fallen onto the track from a ledge. The locomotive and a passenger car spilled down an embankment, derailing three other cars and injuring seven people.
— May 12, 2015: Amtrak Train 188 was traveling at twice the 50 mph speed limit as it entered a sharp curve in Philadelphia and derailed. Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured when the locomotive and four of the train’s seven passenger cars jumped the tracks. Several cars overturned and ripped apart.