A police vehicle is seen near the site of a train derailment at New Hyde Park station, Long Island, New York, the United States, Oct. 8, 2016. Multiple injuries were reported when a commuter train running on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York derailed on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Yuan Yue)
NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Multiple injuries were reported when a commuter train running on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York derailed on Saturday night.
The accident occurred at approximately 9:10 p.m. about one half mile east of the New Hyde Park Station of the LIRR on Long Island, New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State said in an online statement.
Reports on the exact number of injuries from the incident varied significantly. While Cuomo said that "at this time 11 people have sustained injuries" in his statement, a Nassau County police spokesperson told media that an estimated 50 to 100 people were wounded.
But all information pointed to the conclusion that none of the injuries was life-threatening.
There were about 600 passengers on board when the first three of the train's 12 cars derailed, according to the governor. But the cause of the incident remains unclear.
Some media reports said that the derailed train had struck a work train on the tracks.
The site of the incident was some 30 kilometers east of New York City. LIRR service has been in suspension in both directions on several of its branches due to the incident.
Launched in 1834, the LIRR is a commuter rail system stretching from New York City to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average weekday ridership of nearly 340,000 passengers in 2014, it is believed to be the busiest commuter railroad in North America.
The Saturday derailment came on the heels of another major train accident on Sept. 29, when a New Jersey Transit commuter train crashed into the Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. One person died and 114 others were injured in that incident, the cause of which is still under investigation.
