Four dead, 23 injured in train accident near Los Angeles

Four dead, 23 injured in train accident near Los Angeles Washington - At least four people died and 23 others were injured Friday in a train accident near Los Angeles, local television channel KTLA reported.

Several of the injured were in serious condition and the authorities feared that the number of dead might increase, the report said citing rescue teams.

A commuter train and a freight train crashed at 4:23 pm (2323 GMT) near Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. The commuter train was busy at the time, with an estimated 400 passengers.

The causes of the accident were not immediately known. Several wagons were derailed and caught fire, while scores of passengers were trapped in the train wreckage.

Television footage of the site of the accident showed fire department personnel rescuing injured passengers from an overturned wagon.

Rescue helicopters flew the injured to nearby hospitals, and scores of ambulances drove to the site of the crash.

The fire department said more than 100 of their personnel were responding to the accident. (dpa)

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