29 injured in commuter train derailment in US: official

Emergency responders look at the damage of a train that sits derailed near the community of New Hyde Park on Long Island in New York, U.S, October 8, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK-- Twenty-nine people were injured when a commuter train running on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in New York State derailed in New Hyde Park Saturday night, according to the latest statement by local official.

The accident occurred at approximately 9:10 pm (0110 GMT Sunday) about one half mile (about 800 meters) east of the New Hyde Park Station of the LIRR.

"The good news here is no fatalities," said Ed Mangano, Executive of Nassau County, where the incident happened.

It is estimated that there were about 600 passengers onboard when the first three of the train's 12 cars derailed. The county executive said the train was traveling eastbound when it collided with a work train. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

"The Office of Emergency Management for Nassau County have asked the Village of New Hyde Park to open our hall, so they can bring people by bus to this location," said Bob Lofaro, mayor of the Village of New Hyde Park, "families can pick them up, or they can find other transportations from here."

"But fortunately, it didn't seem to be that serious," the mayor told Xinhua that nobody actually came to the location over three hours after the incident.

"Most people just picked up the next train," he said.

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.